Birds of a Feather
by Alec Star
Summary: A Stargate The Sentinel crossover. A letter brings forth an unexpected revelation.
1. Chapter 1: A Question Answered

Disclaimer: As you probably know these characters and concepts don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them for a while and I make no profit from these stories (though they do help me get through sleepless nights).

o-o-o-o

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 1: A Question Answered

I'm staring at the letter in utter disbelief. After so many years this was the last thing I was expecting to get from Naomi: an answer to my questions, an incredibly ordinary story and a name... my father's name.

Just thinking about it is enough to throw me for a loop. When I was little that was the thing I wanted the most, the thing Naomi always said she couldn't give me because she didn't know herself. Deep down I had always suspected that she was lying about that but to have it confirmed is a bit of a shock... as is the mundane way in which this revelation came about.

It turns out that a couple of months ago my mother went out and got herself a new boyfriend. There is nothing new or particularly earth shattering about that, in fact probably the most shocking thing is that they have lasted a couple of months and my mom doesn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. Anyway, I've never even met the man but apparently he is a psychologist and somehow he finally managed to convince her that I had a right to know, that I needed some sort of closure or something like that. I don't know how he did it, though from what I can gather he has had a significant influence on her. She sounds different the letter talks about closure rather than letting the past gobut that is not the point. The point is that she has finally decided that it was time for her to tell me the truth about my own birth.

After years of coming up with millions of different scenarios in my mind as to just what had happened each one of them more unbelievable than the one beforein the end it turns out that the story of how I came to be is an incredibly ordinary one... though it does have a bit of an exotic touch in terms of the location, after all, we **_are_** talking Naomi here.

I've always known that Naomi dropped out of school when she was fifteen and didn't get her high school diploma until I was four, when she realized that, as much as she hated it, she really did need that piece of paper. She was a restless child and she couldn't stand her family's traditional views. She wanted to experience the world first hand, not read about it in some book so she took off. Her curiosity about her own past and history took her to Israel and then, in what was either an incredibly brave or an incredibly stupid move, she set out to explore the Middle East. How a Jewish teenaged girl in the sixties, a couple of years after the Six Day War, decided to do that is something I've never been able to understand.

That was the part of the story I was familiar with, but there was obviously more to it than that, the parts Naomi had always left out of her old stories, like how a few months later she found herself in Egypt, fascinated by the history of the place. Of course, in typical Naomi fashion, she was far from content with guided tours and carefully organized museums. She wanted the thrill of discovery, she wanted to touch that history **_somehow_** so she volunteered to work in a dig. She got food and shelter and a chance to spend hours a day digging through tons of sand... and she met someone. It was one of the archeologists in charge of the place.

Sure, the man was married, he had a small son and both his wife and his child were at the dig but my mother wasn't about to let that stop her. Naomi wanted him and she always got what she wanted... besides, she wasn't looking for a relationship, not a long term one, so she didn't really think it mattered much.

The letter doesn't go into much detail as to how she finally got him, it just mentions something about an argument he had with his wife one night and the fact that Naomi was 'in the right place at the right time'. The next day she left the dig and never saw him again... in fact she didn't even think much about him until a few weeks later when she realized that her actions on that particular night had had some unexpected consequences.

According to Naomi she thought about going back when she found out she was pregnant, she thought about telling him the truth but in the end she couldn't bring herself to do it. Yes, she was willing to overlook the fact that he was a married man when it came to sleeping with him but she knew she didn't have a right to ruin his marriage so he never even knew that I existed.

Naomi made her peace with the fact that she was a single mother early on but that didn't necessarily mean that there weren't any problems and some of those had to do with the fact that I kept asking her about my father. That was something she had never really anticipated. She was young and she had assumed that an answer along the lines of 'I don't know' would always be enough for me but it wasn't... not by a longshot.

She says she wanted to tell me but she didn't know how, that at first I was too young to understand and then she didn't know how to tell me that she had lied to me in the first place. She didn't tell me because she was afraid of seeing the disappointment in my face, besides while she didn't want me to be haunted by my father's ghost, she knew that a ghost was all my father was ever going to be to me.

Even after I was born she kept an eye on his career and she was well aware of the fact that he had been killed in a freak accident in the early seventies. According to her letter that was one of the main reasons why she was so reluctant to tell me his name... a name that is now staring back at me from a piece of paper.

My father is dead, at least now I know that much, but that is not the end of the story... there's something else here in my mother's letter. He was a married man, a man who had a son, a son Naomi actually met, a son who was three when I was conceived. That means I have a brother, a big brother who doesn't know I exist and now the question is, should I contact him?

When I was growing up I wanted a big brother almost as much as I wanted a father... a brother who would keep the bullies away. It is true that I have a brother now in my sentinel and I'm fine with that but I am also curious. If it were up to me I would look him up, no question about that, but the problem is that I don't think he would really appreciate it... not seeing how I'm a bastard.

That's the word that's been haunting me ever since I can remember. Sure, there are plenty of pretty euphemisms like natural or illegitimate or whatever, but in the end they all mean the same thing and while I would love to meet my brother, I know he probably won't want to meet me.

I have a lot to think about but I know that while I can always try and contact him later I'll never be able to uncontact him if I take that first step now. I know I don't have the right to hurt him by confronting him with the fact that I exist. For the time being I think I just have to be content with the fact that I have an answer to my questions. I know who my father was, I finally have a name to replace the question mark that has plagued me all my life, I even have a picture, an old photograph of Dr. Melburn Jackson taken in that dig so many years ago.


	2. Chapter 2: A Leap of Faith?

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 2: A Leap of Faith?  
(Jim's POV)

It doesn't take a sentinel to see that Blair is having a hard time coming to terms with the contents of Naomi's letter and, not for the first time, I find myself yearning to strangle the woman. I mean, I'm glad Sandburg's finally found the answers he was looking for, I'm glad she finally did the right thing and told him like she should have done **_decades_** ago but the fact remains that her technique was all but criminal... as usual.

She couldn't be bothered to call him, she couldn't be bothered to come, she couldn't even be bothered with making the effort to put an envelope inside another to give her son some sort of warning as to what it was that he was going to find in that letter... and the contents of that letter were not such that Blair was likely to come to terms with them without being hurt in the process. In the span of a couple of paragraphs she told him that his father was a married man, that his father was dead and that he had an older brother... well, half-brother. At least she made no excuses for her actions, though I wonder whether that was due to her finally taking responsibility for them or if it was merely due to the fact that to this day she is still not even aware of their implications.

The thing is that right now my guide is stuck debating with himself over whether or not he should try and contact his brother and it doesn't look like he is going to be coming to anything remotely resembling a decision any time soon.

I can understand his dilemma, he explained it to me and in a way it makes perfect sense. Thanks to the little bombshell Naomi dropped on his lap he has no choice but to make what is likely to be a life-altering decision on behalf of a total stranger and that is not something to be taken lightly. He has to decide whether he wants to contact his brother or not, whether or not he should even tell his brother of his existence. I know he wants to do it, I can see it in his eyes but in typical Blair fashion not Sandburg, after all Naomi is also a Sandburghe is trying to put his brother first. He is trying to imagine what his brother would want under the circumstances and going by the contents of Naomi's letter that decision is made even more complicated by how little Blair knows about the man. He has a name and he knows when and how his parents died but that is about it.

What he does know, however, is another thing that is bound to play a role in his decision. According to the letter it wasn't just Blair's father that was lost in that accident, the accident also claimed his wife's life and that has only made matters worse. That means that his brother was orphaned at a fairly early age and as a result he is likely to have an idealized view of his parents... and now Sandburg has to decide whether the possibility of getting a brother is something the man would choose over those illusions.

I can understand my partner's concerns. It is not an easy decision no matter how you look at it. While on the one hand I suspect the man would probably be delighted to have a family, on the other I can understand Sandburg's concerns about the fact that the revelation of just how Blair came to be is one that is unlikely to sit well with him.

I've spent hours acting as a sounding board, listening to my partner as he goes over the pros and cons of either approach but I don't think he is any closer to coming to a decision. The thing is that so far I've heard him rationalize the situation but I don't think he is seeing all his options, not right now. In a way he is thinking more like an anthropologist than like a detective and that is needlessly narrowing down his choices.

He is going by what he knows and what he knows is nowhere near enough for him to reach a decision, that much is obvious. As far as I can tell the problem is that he is going by the information that Naomi has provided him with, by what Naomi has told him about a three-year-old child and that is of no use when dealing with the man that child has become. Seeing him at a loss, I finally decide to make a suggestion of my own. I tell him that maybe he should approach this thing from another angle, that rather than trying to figure out what his brother would want in such a vacuum maybe he should try to learn more about his brother **_before_** he makes his decision.

His brother is no longer the three-year-old described by Naomi in her letter. He is a grown man who is bound to have a life of his own... a life that may very well hold the key as to whether Blair should try and contact him or if he should leave well enough alone. Based on that it should be possible for Blair to set some sort of parameters, some guidelines on which he can base his decision. Maybe something like if his brother has a family, if he was adopted and was able to rebuild his life in the aftermath of his parents' deaths, then maybe it would be best for Blair not to disrupt that but if he is alone then it may be a good idea for Blair to approach him. Maybe Blair could look into what kind of life his brother's led, to see if it is a life in which he could possibly fit in or if it is a life in which he would be totally out of place, a life in which his presence would almost certainly do more harm than good.

In other words, I tell my partner that maybe he should approach this like he would a case, that maybe the first thing he should do is to look into his brother's background and then make a decision based on that. I understand his concerns and I know what kind of risks he is going to have to take if he decides to try and contact him but I also know there are things he can try and do to minimize those risks. I know no background check could possibly prepare him for what he is likely to have to face should he decide to get in touch with the man... and I know a rejection would be devastating for him.

That is the part that worries me the most, the part I know I'm going to have to steel myself for. I know Blair desperately wants to meet his brother, I can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice but at the same time I know his brother may want nothing to do with him and I don't want my partner to get hurt. The problem is that, as much as I want to, I know I can't keep him safe, not this time around. All I can do is encourage him to find out as much as he can, to try and see whether the risk is worth taking... and to prepare myself for the fact that I may end up having to pick up the pieces.


	3. Chapter 3: Red Flags Flying

**_For the appropriate disclaimers please see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 3: Red Flags Flying  
(Jack's POV, sort of)

As soon as I see the look on Carter's face I can tell she is worried about something. Having never been one for pleasantries I decide to cut to the chase.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure, sir. It could be nothing but... there's someone who's been trying to access Daniel's records and it seems to be more in-depth than the average search, though it doesn't go anywhere near as deep as a serious hacker would either, it's just somewhere in between. The thing is that no matter how I look at it, there's something here that just doesn't add up."

"Could you try and be a little more specific than that?"

"Well, sir, I traced the search back to its source. It is originating in the Cascade PD in Washington, in Major Crimes to be accurate. The question is why would a law enforcement agency back in Washington be looking into Daniel's past... and the material they seemed to be trying to locate is **_not_** the kind of material one would expect a law enforcement agency to focus on to begin with. In fact at first I assumed that it probably was originating from one of the local colleges. The skill level at least was consistent with what I would have expected if that had been the case.

"The thing is that having someone take a serious interest in Daniel's theories, really looking into them rather than laughing them off, is not something we want. That's what prompted me to trace it in the first place. The problem is that the origin of the search doesn't really seem to make much sense and the way in which the investigation has been conducted is too sloppy for the usual suspects. If I had to try and guess I'd say that, whoever is behind this, wasn't looking for the SGC seeing how at first he or she left a trail a mile wide. It's as if they had had no idea as to what it was that they were getting into, however once they realized that they were entering areas where they really shouldn't be the search didn't stop, it just became a lot less obvious and more insidious."

"So what you are saying is...?"

"That there's someone out there who is looking into Daniel's background and theories from the Cascade PD, paying far more attention to them than I'm comfortable with and I'd really like to know why."

"Are you sure this someone is going to be a problem or could there be any other options... hopefully some that are snake free and don't involve mortal peril?" I ask, understanding Carter's unease but realizing that there doesn't seem to be anything particularly deadly about the situation either... at least not for the time being.

"I'm not sure, sir. As I said, at first none of this seemed to make much sense."

"At first? So is it safe to assume that you've managed to come up with an explanation since then?"

"Well, this is where things get even more complicated, sir, and please keep in mind that this is pure speculation, but when I traced the search back to the Cascade PD I was baffled so I decided to do a search of my own and I came back with a couple of interesting files... one in particular."

"Do you have a suspect, Carter?"

"I'm not sure but I think so, sir."

"Care to share with the class?"

"A few years ago there was a minor scandal back in Cascade. Nothing earth shattering really, just an anthropology student named Blair Sandburg who had faked his diss. It was something about a man with heightened senses and some other such nonsense... or so it seemed."

"Or so it seemed?"

"Yes, sir. This is where things get interesting. Almost as soon as the story broke Sandburg stepped forward and admitted to the fraud, basically destroying his own career in the process. Up until that point things seemed reasonable enough and the theory itself was so far-fetched that no one really questioned him when he said he'd lied... but if his dissertation was a fraud then none of the things that happened afterwards make any sense.

"You see, he claimed to have found a man with heightened senses, a sentinel as he called him, a man that was basically a walking crime lab, a man whose senses were so powerful that they were all but impossible for him to control."

"And this connects with our mystery search on Daniel exactly how?"

"I'm getting to that, sir. This man, this alleged sentinel, was a Detective James Ellison with the Cascade PD, Major Crimes to be accurate. He was 'Cop of the Year' two years running and..."

"Did you just say James Ellison?"

"You know him?"

"I may know **_of_** him. If he is who I think he is, he was covert ops."

"He is, sir. I checked his record."

"And what else did you find out?"

"Well, as I said, that's where things get interesting. After Mr. Sandburg acknowledged his own paper as a fraud he was offered a job as a detective with the Cascade PD."

"Let me guess, in Major Crimes?"

"And as Detective Ellison's partner, sir."

"But why would the Cascade PD take in a fraud as a detective, for crying out loud? That doesn't make any sense at all!"

"Well, there's no apparent explanation, no one ever really questioned it. It was kept hushed at first but by the time Sandburg was done going through the academy and jumping through the necessary hoops the media had moved on and the scandal had been all but forgotten... or it had been forgotten everywhere except in academic circles where chances are he will never be forgiven.

"The problem is that while Sandburg's original claim could easily be dismissed as nothing but fantasy, the truth is that I've been going over it a little more carefully and I've found that his research and his sources were solid enough. Legends of 'sentinels' have indeed been around for a very long time and the man's work was nothing short of amazing... besides, while demonstrating the existence of a living sentinel would have been a master coup, the information he had been able to gather from different sources should have been more than enough for him to be awarded that Ph.D. so there was no real reason for him to lie about it in the first place. In addition to that the idea that he would fake his dissertation seems to be totally out of character from what I've been able to find. He was a wiz kid who was admitted to college when he was sixteen even though he had a rather unorthodox past that didn't exactly make for a solid academic background. His mother was a teenaged hippy, his father is listed as unknown, and he spent the first sixteen years of his life traveling all over creation."

"That sounds familiar... well, except for the teenaged hippy mother part."

"Yes, sir. The thing is that when all those elements are taken into account then the whole story of that fraud doesn't add up, not really. I've read some of his papers and he is brilliant, in fact I'd say he may be a little too bright for his own good..."

"Like someone else we know? Are you saying that you don't think his dissertation was a fraud?"

"Well, common sense would dictate that it was, but a careful look at the facts pretty much knocks the wind out of that theory. Detective Ellison's record is incredible... a little too incredible if he **_isn't_** a sentinel... and that would explain why the PD took Sandburg in even though he was a self-confessed **_fraud_**. The thing is that if Sandburg is not a fraud and he has taken an interest in Daniel's theories we could all end up in trouble. He is not someone who will be discouraged by the fact that the theories seem absurd and are bound to be dismissed out of hand by the academic establishment. He is not someone who will spouse or reject a theory based on any possible professional accolades or rejections. And as for his claims that his own work was a fraud, well, it sounds far-fetched enough but let's just say that after having seen the gate in action I am not going to be too quick to dismiss the possibility that there may actually be such a thing as a sentinel out there."

"But even if he were to take Daniel's theories seriously no one would believe him, right? I mean, once a fraud, always a fraud?"

"Yes, sir, but..."

"But you'd feel a lot more comfortable if you could be sure of just where we stand on this?"

"Yes, sir. If I'm right we may be looking at someone who could possibly put two and two together and actually come up with four here."

"I see. So, if I can get the General to give us a couple of days, how would you feel about a little field trip? I hear Washington is beautiful this time of the year."

* * *

Author's note: okay, this is obviously several years post TSbBS in "The Sentinel" (in fact it takes place just about now) but timeline wise it will remain ambiguous as far as "Stargate" goes. I don't care what they say, I like my SGC with Hammond in charge, Fraiser in the infirmary and Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c as SG-1, so consider it AU... it doesn't really matter anyway. 


	4. Chapter 4: A Tough Nut to Crack

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 4: A Tough Nut to Crack  
(Jim's POV)

Why did I ever think that something involving Sandburg and his **_brother_** could possibly go as planned? I really should have known better. That is the thought that keeps going through my mind as Blair and I go over the files we have managed to assemble. We've been studying them for hours now and I can't help but shake my head in total disbelief. There are some interesting tidbits here, that's for sure, but it's what isn't here that draws my attention. That is the part I find to be the most disturbing one and the one that is bound to make Blair's decision that much harder.

The truth is that his brother's story is nothing short of unbelievable. In some aspects it's so much like Blair's that I am tempted to double-check to make sure the name in the files hasn't accidentally been changed. Even the basic information makes for some rather interesting reading. It is... unconventional, to say the least.

The man was actually born in Egypt and he spent most of his early years there... up until his parents were killed. After that he spent the next eight years bouncing around the system without anything remotely resembling a permanent home due to the fact that his grandfather refused to take custody of him. When he was sixteen he started college --studying archeology and anthropology among other things-- where he was regarded as pretty much a wiz kid until he was laughed out of academia due to his theories, theories that include concepts such as the fact that the pyramids are much older than anyone thinks and that they were actually built by aliens.

In other words, Sandburg's brother was laughed out of academia for daring to suggest something that would have been more at home with what one would expect to find among those who believe in alien abductions and little green men than with what one would expect to find in a respectable scientific journal. Up until that point the similarities between the man's life and Sandburg's are nothing short of amazing... but still, there is nothing in there that can actually be described as **_disturbing_**. It's what comes afterwards that bothers me.

After he first published his theories he vanished for a year... and when I say vanished I do mean without a trace, as in can't find even a credit card transaction to his name. From what we've been able to find for a whole year the man didn't even buy a pack of gum and then, without any apparent explanation, suddenly he was back, living in Colorado and working for the Air Force in something having to do with deep space telemetry or some other such scientific mouthful... and that's where the real problem lies as far as I'm concerned.

For years now Sandburg and I have been trying to slip under the radar of a number of shadow organizations belonging to our government, organizations with alphabet soup names and safe-sounding cover stories... and somehow I get the feeling that we may have accidentally stepped right into the screen of one of them. Unfortunately now it's too late for us to do anything about it. The only thing we can possibly hope to do is to try and find what's behind door number one **_before_** it opens and swallows us whole.

That is what Sandburg and I have been trying to figure out today... especially because there is something about this deep space telemetry story that doesn't really add up, starting with the level of security in that place and moving on to some of the characters involved. We've tried our usual contacts and the fact is that they haven't panned out. That is not a comforting thought, not by a long shot. One thing we've learned over the years is that if Kelso can't crack it then whatever it is, it's bound to be big.

Of course, the fact that our search hasn't gone anywhere near as well as we would have liked it to go doesn't mean that it's been completely useless either. We have managed to gather a fair amount of information about Sandburg's brother and in that regard it can even be described as a success... it's what's attached to that brother that worries us, especially the fact that in the few files we've been able to find concerning whatever the man happens to be working on, there is one name that keeps popping up, one Colonel Jonathan "Jack" O'Neill who I suspect knows about as much about deep space telemetry as I do. The man is special forces and he is most definitely **_not_** someone you are likely to find babysitting a telescope.

In other words, our little search has left us with more questions than answers, in fact it's left us with more questions than we had to begin with and there is a very real possibility that it may even have left us exposed. When we started this we did so as we would any background check. It is something we've done a million times before and it wasn't until we realized that we were probably stepping on some fairly sensitive military toes that we chose a more subtle approach... unfortunately, if the security of the systems in that place is anything to go by, then it was already too late.


	5. Chapter 5: Of Mountains and Mohammeds

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 5: Of Mountains and Mohammeds  
(Blair's POV)

Jim and I are sitting at our desks putting the finishing touches on the paperwork from our latest case and so far the day hasn't been all that remarkable... a fact that, come to think of it, is fairly remarkable considering our track record. The problem is that the paperwork in question is particularly dull, in fact it is so boring that I don't even have to worry about coming up with some way to cover for Jim's abilities and that means I have time to think... and lately that translates into me trying to figure out what to do about Naomi's revelation.

The fact that my brother works for the military has changed everything... no, it hasn't changed anything, not really, it just added a whole new set of questions, questions that are far more difficult to answer. Back when I first received my mother's letter I found myself struggling to come to a decision as to whether or not the man would rather have his illusions concerning his parents or an illegitimate half-brother, now I also have to question whether or not contacting him is an acceptable risk not only for myself but for Jim as well. There is so much I don't know about what he does, in fact these past few days have provided me with almost no answers and the only thing I'm absolutely, one hundred percent certain of is the fact that he most definitely **_doesn't_** work in anything remotely resembling deep space telemetry.

Whatever my brother is doing under that mountain is a mystery not even Kelso has been able to crack... and if the security I encountered when I tried to hack my way into their system is anything to go by then the truth is that I'm not entirely sure I want to know.

I shake my head as I realize that once more my thoughts have drifted to 'my brother'. That seems so strange in so many ways. First of all there's the fact that all my life I've been an only child so just coming to terms with the fact that he actually exists has been a major adjustment. The second thing is the fact that I keep thinking of him as 'my brother' or 'the/that man'... I still can't quite bring myself to think of him using his name. On a rational level I understand why I'm doing it, I know that as long as I don't think of him using his name he won't be entirely real and I don't think I'm ready to make him real... not while I'm still wondering what to do about any of this.

As long as he is not real I can accept the fact that in the end I may decide not to contact him, that in the end I may be forced to walk away from him without even telling him that I exist, but as soon as I start to think of him as a real person, as soon as I allow myself to humanize him by giving him a name, then facing the possibility of having to walk away from him will become that much more painful.

I'm suddenly brought back to the here and now by Jim's muttered 'Oh shit!' I look around and I can see nothing out of place so I start to work on trying to figure out just what it was that caused that exclamation. Hoping for a best case scenario I throw a quick glance at his screen... it's still working and it **_hasn't_** crashed. That means I can rule out culprit number one, unfortunately under the circumstances that is not necessarily a good thing because it means that the problem is to be found elsewhere. After that I take a look around the bullpen, carefully examining my surroundings, but there doesn't seem to be anything obviously wrong as far as I can tell. I run through my mental list almost automatically and I immediately rule out a zone-out --seeing how Jim would have been unable to speak if that had been the case-- and I also rule out any possible discomfort. As far as I can tell Jim is fine though he seems to be concentrating on hearing something... the elevator perhaps, and going by the look on his face I know that whatever it is it's not good so I try to brace myself for what is about to come.

I don't know what I was expecting to come out the moment the doors slid open, maybe I was expecting a serial killer covered in blood and holding a couple of hostages or something equally disturbing, but I certainly wasn't expecting the arrival of three seemingly normal people. I take a moment to study them, trying to identify what was it about them that caused my sentinel to react as he did.

The first one is a rather tall man with brown eyes and grey hair, he looks distinguished even in his casual clothes and something about his whole demeanor screams military. Next comes a blonde woman with short hair and legs up to... okay, I better drop that particular train of thought ASAP, it's taken me long enough to get Jim and the guys to stop teasing me about the table-leg. Anyway, something about the way in which she carries herself, the way she moves, catches my attention and I can see immediately that she's one lady on whose bad side I most definitely **_don't_** want to find myself. Judging by her company I would assume that she too is military. It is only when my eyes fall on the third person of that group that I realize what caused my partner's muttered exclamation. Even though I've never met the man that doesn't change the fact that I can recognize him right away and when I do I can't take my eyes off of him. I know him, I know who he is, I've seen his photo numerous times in these past few days as I've struggled to come to a decision about Naomi's little surprise.

I swallow hard because I know the man who just walked into the bullpen is my brother.


	6. Chapter 6: PMS?

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 6: PMS?  
(Jim's POV)

I'm not particularly surprised when I see Dr. Jackson emerge from that elevator. I have been fearing for a while that Blair's check into the man's background was likely to have raised some red flags but still this is one instance in which being right does **_not_** make me feel better.

On a positive note this will almost certainly force Blair's hand in terms of coming to a decision and that is important seeing how he's been agonizing over what to do for a while now... but other than that it means we are in trouble.

Military attention is one thing we most definitely **_don't_** want and the fact is that both of Dr. Jackson's companions scream 'military' and more. If I had to make a bet I'd say that the man is probably Colonel O'Neill. That is the most logical explanation though the woman is a bit of an enigma, but now the question is what are we supposed to do about any of this?

It is not just that they are obviously military, it is also the fact that, if the way they move is anything to go by, then they most definitely don't spend their days stargazing no matter what kind of cover story they want to try and sell us. They are a combat unit that is used to being deployed together, a combat unit that is used to having to rely on each other for their survival... and I do mean all three of them, even if Dr. Jackson has obviously had less formal training than either one of his companions.

Well, there is nothing we can do about it, not now. That's the thought that goes through my mind as I see them head straight for Simon's office. I am curious about what is being said in there however about fifteen seconds after the door is closed I reluctantly dial down my hearing. Just like clockwork, Simon's familiar words "Ellison! Sandburg! My office! **_NOW!_**" echo across the bullpen. I look at my partner and I can see that he is nervous, hopefully nervous enough **_not_** to try and remind Simon of the importance of using verbs when he bellows.

"Gentlemen, these are Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and Dr. Jackson, now would you mind telling me what you've managed to get yourselves into this time?" he asks glaring at us with all his might.

"What do you mean?" asks Sandburg with his most innocent expression. If it were just Simon I think he'd have a shot at getting away with it but these people are not going to fall for any diversionary tactics and I know it.

"Cut the bull," says O'Neill. "Care to tell me why the sudden interest in Dr Jackson?"

I can see that Sandburg is staring at his brother and I put my hand on his shoulder. He has been trying to imagine what meeting the man was going to be like for a while now but somehow I don't think this is a scenario he has ever really considered, still, it can't be helped and that means we will have no choice but to deal with it.

"With all due respect, sir, that's personal," I say, trying to divert attention away from my guide.

"Not when it affects one of my men," he growls.

One of his men? I'm not sure if the Colonel is aware of his slip but I can see that Sandburg did catch it. What can I say, my little guppy has grown into an amazing detective and very little gets past him. Knowing that there's just one way to solve this I turn to my partner and ask, "is it back at the loft?"

"Yes," he mutters.

"Could you go get it?" I say, not bothering to clear it with Simon who is still glaring at me but who I trust not to say anything... not right now.

"Wouldn't it be easier for us to go back home?" asks Blair sounding hopeful and I most definitely understand. He doesn't want to do this here, unfortunately he is not going to have a choice in the matter. Right now these people are as likely to follow us as we are to follow them.

"Not now, chief, sorry. You know how it goes. We are not going anywhere with them and they are not going anywhere with us," I say, making sure they hear me. I'm not following the script, I'm not playing along with any sort of cloak and dagger bull and with a bit of luck that will throw them off, at least a little. What can I say, knowing what's going on --or at least some of it-- does have its advantages.

As Sandburg heads out the door I hear him muttering something about "damned PMS" under his breath, it is not quite a whisper and it is loud enough for everyone in the room to have heard it so I ask, "PMS, chief?"

"Well, excuse my dyslexia. I meant SMP, as in standard military paranoia," he growls, causing the Colonel to look like he just swallowed a lemon while Major Carter and Dr. Jackson are apparently trying to keep themselves from laughing at my partner's antics. Their reaction is enough to enable me to lower my initial assessment of our current threat level, though not by much.

I can see that Sandburg is still not happy about having to do this with so many strangers around but I know he understands. I just hope this encounter won't end up in disaster. I know how much Blair wants this and while he was willing to consider the possibility of not meeting his brother just to stay away from the military, now that the man is here not saying anything is killing him... and to make matters worse we still don't have a clue as to how Dr. Jackson is going to react to any of it.

As soon as Sandburg is gone, Simon kicks us out of his office and he orders me to escort our 'guests' on a fascinating tour of the Cascade PD. I can tell they are about as thrilled with the prospect as I am --and if the glint in Simon's eyes is anything to go by he is well aware of that fact-- but there is nothing we can do about it and we all know it. Well, if nothing else it will give me a chance to observe them and maybe find some answers.

Sandburg and I have been trying to avoid military attention for years but they are here now and there is nothing we can do to change that. That means that we need as much information as we can possibly get. The good news is that nothing in the files we've been able to get would seem to suggest that the project these people are involved with is directly connected with any of those groups that would represent the biggest threat to our safety. The bad news is that we still have a million unanswered questions so the fact that we haven't uncovered a direct connection doesn't necessarily mean there isn't one... and then there's also the fact that while --as far as we know-- they are not directly affiliated with those groups, some things would seem to hint at the possibility that they have at least come into contact with them in the past and we have no details whatsoever regarding the nature of that contact.

Knowing that right now it's time for me to collect the evidence rather than to try and come up with a theory I focus my attention back on my three companions. They are an unlikely group, that's for sure, and I can't help but wonder what could possibly have brought them together. I know Dr. Jackson is an archeologist and Colonel O'Neill is a covert ops specialist, the question that remains is who is Major Carter and what role does she have to play in it... whatever **_it_** happens to be.

I shake my head at the realization that, for better or for worse, it is definitely beginning to look like another beautiful day in the Sandburg zone.


	7. Chapter 7: Disclosure

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 7: Disclosure  
(Jim's POV)

As we make our way out of Simon's office I can tell that our 'guests' are more than a little on edge, not that that is particularly surprising. If these people work on deep space telemetry then Sandburg's dissertation really was a fraud. Oh, they are doing a good job at keeping a calm outward appearance, there's no denying that, but they are not fooling me... especially not Colonel O'Neill. All his training is rebelling against this waiting without knowing the facts. He is a soldier and he needs to know what he is up against... and right now he doesn't. From the way his body is reacting I'd wager he thinks of this as enemy territory and I can't help but wonder what it is that we've stumbled into.

These three are hiding something that is big enough for them to have actually come here in response to Sandburg's inquiries and that is **_not_** a good sign. I know **_why_** Sandburg was looking into Jackson's background but they've obviously put two and two together and come up with five... and for one reason or another they clearly see us as a threat.

The thing is that I don't even need my senses to figure out why they are here: they are here to throw us off the trail they fear we may have picked up. If it weren't for the number of things that can go seriously wrong here it would probably be funny... the problem is that those things **_can_** go seriously wrong, our lives are at stake and I have more questions than answers concerning my companions. Unfortunately for the time being those questions are going to have to wait.

Unlike them I know what's going on, I know why Sandburg went snooping into Jackson's past and I know my own curiosity will have to take a back seat... at least until we can get the basics sorted out here. I know the next few minutes are bound to be difficult for Blair. Even though he has tried his best to keep his hopes from getting too high the fact is that he has been looking forward to this moment for a while... of course, this is far from the scenario we had in mind when we talked about the possibility of Blair contacting his brother. This is a live grenade and we both know it.

After a little less than half an hour I hear Sandburg reentering the building and I herd our 'guests' back toward Major Crimes, hoping to get this over with as soon as we can. All I can think of is that one way or another, it will be over soon, that in a matter of minutes Blair will finally have his answer.

As soon as my partner walks back into the bullpen I gesture for him to go to Simon's office. I know our captain won't be happy at the thought of us taking it over but right now I really don't care. I'd rather we not do this in the break room where we would be too likely to be interrupted... and I'm sure once he learns what's going on Simon at least will understand.

I can see that Blair is incredibly nervous, his heart is going a mile a minute and he certainly doesn't need the added stress. Ideally we should have taken this whole thing home but, Sandburg's cracks about PMS notwithstanding, the fact is that there was no way we were going to get these people to follow us anywhere without an explanation. The PD is safe, it is a public place, there are plenty of witnesses and they know we won't risk anything here, going back to the loft was never an option for them... and considering that they don't know what we know and that we don't know what they do, it wasn't really an option for us either.

"You've got it, Chief?" I ask Blair as soon as I close the door behind him.

He just nods and I know that is not a good sign... a non-verbal Sandburg never is.

"Would you mind filling us in on just what **_it_** is?" asks O'Neill who is just about out of patience.

"A letter," I growl, not liking the tone he is taking with my guide.

"Care to explain that one?"

"About ten days ago I got a letter from my mom, that's what this is about," says Blair.

"And you expect us to believe that? You want us to believe that this is all about something your mommy told you?" insist the Colonel, not quite trusting my partner's words.

"I just... I didn't know what to do."

"And that explains you running a background check on Daniel how?"

"I..."

Seeing that he is not sure of how to handle this and that there's just no way O'Neill is backing down any time soon I gesture for Blair to give the letter over to Jackson, hoping that once he knows what this is all about we'll be able to move past this and maybe he'll be able to calm his friend down. I understand the Colonel's hostility but I know there's no way Sandburg can blurt out the truth, not in front of so many people... of so many strangers. I really wish there were another way for us to do this but right now we are pretty much out of choices.

At first I can see that Jackson is not entirely sure of what to do with the papers Sandburg just handed him, which is not particularly surprising seeing how he doesn't have a clue as to what he is going to find in them, just like Blair was caught totally off-guard by Naomi's letter. After a few seconds however, his whole demeanor changes and before I know it he is staring at my partner like he doesn't know what to make out of any of it.

"Is this for real?" he whispers and Sandburg just nods in reply.

Seeing the scene unfolding in front of him O'Neill just takes the letter from Jackson's hand without even bothering to ask for his permission and starts reading it himself before handing it over to Major Carter. If the situation weren't so serious the way in which their eyes are going from one brother to the other, taking in the differences and the similarities between the two of them would almost certainly be funny. The good news is that at least now we are all on the same page and that means that maybe we can give Sandburg and Jackson a bit of privacy to talk things through... not that we'll be going far, just to the break room where I can still keep an ear out for my partner.

I still don't know what Jackson is going to do about any of this and if it were just the three of us I wouldn't be going anywhere but right now his friends are crowding Blair and I really need to get them out of here.


	8. Chapter 8: First Contact

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 8: First Contact  
(Blair's POV)

I'm looking at the man and suddenly, after almost two weeks of trying to imagine what I was going to say, of trying to visualize every last detail of how this encounter was going to unfold, I find myself totally at a loss for words. Even as he stands in front of me I have trouble trying to come to terms with the fact that he is actually my brother... my father's son... and if the look on his face is anything to go by than I think it's safe to say that I am not the only one who is feeling more than a little lost here.

"So, your name is Blair?" he asks.

"And you are Daniel?" I reply, even though I know who he is, just like he knows who I am, after all we were formally introduced to each other less than an hour ago but still this feels... different... and my brain is still trying to come to terms with the latest developments.

"Yes," he says, obviously as confused as I am.

"So why are you here?" I ask, trying to focus on the immediate questions... the ones that don't scare me half to death.

"You were looking into my background and Jack and Sam... well let's just say that they are kind of paranoid."

"PMS?"

"To put it mildly," he says, shaking his head at my little definition.

"Sorry about that, I was just..."

"What were you looking for?" he asks, suddenly taking the initiative.

"An answer, I guess. It's just that when I first got that letter I didn't really know what to do," I try to explain. "On the one hand I really wanted to get in touch with you but on the other I knew I didn't have the right to disrupt your life by just showing up on your doorstep one day. Anyway, Jim suggested that I check your background to try and see whether or not getting in touch with you was a good idea in the first place..."

"And in doing so you triggered Sam's alarms."

"Sam?"

"Major Carter," he explains, seeing the confusion reflected on my face.

"She's the one who caught me snooping?"

"Yes... that and the fact that the system you were trying to break into is pretty secure."

"Believe me, I noticed that. So, what happens now?" I ask, almost holding my breath. Whether I'm ready or not, this is it and I know it.

"I don't know. I have to say that a brother was the last thing I was expecting to find when I got here."

"'A brother', that still sounds so weird... I mean, I've always wondered what it would be like to have an older brother and then when I got Naomi's letter..."

"Naomi?" he asks, just as confused as I was by his reference to Sam' only a moment ago.

"My mom," I explain, feeling more than a little awkward. "She doesn't exactly like me calling her mom so..."

"What's she like?" he asks and I **_really_** don't know how to answer that question. I love my mom but she is hard enough to explain when dealing with someone who **_doesn't_** have a reason to hate her guts... as he does.

"She's great, I mean she is loving and she has good intentions, but sometimes I just wish she'd think things through before acting. That's her main problem, she means well but I have to admit that sometimes her good intentions have a tendency to backfire... of course, if she did think things through I probably wouldn't be here so I guess I don't have much of a right to complain about that. I know she's probably not one of your favorite people but I love her."

"Sounds like my grandfather... sort of. He used to insist I call him Nick rather than grandpa, even when I was a kid."

"What happened to him?" I ask, focusing on his use of the past tense and not daring to voice my real question: whether or not the man he is talking about is also **_my_** grandfather... luckily he picks up on it and answers me anyway.

"Nick Ballard, the explorer. He is my maternal grandfather but... well, let's just say that playing grandpa didn't exactly rate very high on his list of priorities. I used to get a postcard from him every now and then as I was growing up but that was about it," Daniel explains, not quite succeeding in keeping the bitterness out of his voice... and I understand.

"Naomi wasn't exactly the mommy type either, though of course she was fairly young when I was born. She loved me but she kept leaving me behind whenever having a kid became too much of a burden for her to bear. I understand now but..." I trail off, not knowing what else to say.

"I have to say that this is not a scenario I considered when Sam told me that she was worried that someone was trying to break into my files," he tells me, obviously sensing my own discomfort.

"And I wasn't expecting to see you walk into the bullpen," I shoot back, seeing how the conversation is back to where it started.

"So what happens now?"

"That's up to you, man. I'd love to get to know you and I admit I'm curious but I'd understand it if you don't want to have anything to do with me."

"Why **_wouldn't_** I want to have anything to do with you?" he asks, apparently surprised by my comment.

"I don't know, I guess because I'd understand it if you are not exactly thrilled by the fact that I exist," I explain, trying to conceal how much the idea bothers me. This is my brother and I don't want him to reject me... even though I know he has every reason to do so.

"Blair, you know about how my parents died, don't you?" he asks, pretty much out of the blue.

"Yes."

"Well, after that I spent years playing system ping-pong, right until I was ready to go to college. Believe me, I'm not going to turn my back on a chance to have a brother... regardless of how you came about."

"Fair enough," is the only thing I can think of saying as it finally hits me that this is real, that he is here and he doesn't hate me.

"So, little bro, what have you been up to for, say, the last thirty five years of your life?" he asks, trying to lighten the mood.

As soon as I hear his question I feel my heart drop to my feet. Things had been going great up to this point... okay, so maybe they weren't great, maybe they were a little awkward but they had been going as well as I could possibly have hoped they would go but now I know I'll have to tell him about the diss... about being a fraud. I wish I could tell him the truth but the fact is that I know I can't so I swallow hard and say:

"Well, let's see, I was born in May of 69, my mom and I used to travel a lot so I had been to every continent by the time I was six. School was hard, I was always the nerdy new kid with big glasses and the fact that I was a couple of years younger than most of my classmates didn't exactly help matters any. I got picked on a lot. By the time I was sixteen I was admitted to Rainier, anthropology, and I stayed there for my masters and... well, I would have stayed there for my Ph.D. as well but let's just say that **_that _** didn't exactly pan out as I had expected it to. I got caught faking my diss, was kicked out and then I joined the PD as a detective. I've been here for a few years and I've discovered that I actually like it. So what have you been up to for these past thirty nine years or so?" I ask, turning the tables on him.


	9. Chapter 9: And Now There's Two of Them!

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 9: And Now There's Two of Them?  
(Jim's POV, sort of)

"So, detective, would you mind telling me why I have representatives of the Air Force dropping in unannounced and why I've been effectively evicted from my own office?" asks Simon, sounding anything but happy.

"Sorry about that, sir, and the one word answer would be 'Naomi'," I say, knowing that he'll understand. We've been visited by hurricane Naomi often enough to know what to expect.

"Why am I not surprised?" he asks with a resigned sigh. "What did she do now and what the hell was that all about?"

"Well, Simon, about ten days ago Sandburg got a letter from his mother. It seems that for whatever reason she finally decided to fill him in on his father's identity... no real explanations for her change of heart on that one given."

"Sounds like Naomi alright, but what does that have to do with the Air Force. It's not exactly the kind of people I would expect her to be associating with."

"It's not. Turns out that Blair's father died over thirty years ago but he does have an older half-brother."

"Let me guess, Dr. Jackson?" he asks, putting the pieces together.

"Yes."

"And the Air Force?"

"I'm not really sure why they came here but apparently Jackson's been working for them for years. If I had to guess I'd say that when Sandburg started looking into his brother's background he must have set off some alarms somewhere, am I right?" I ask, turning my attention to Colonel O'Neill.

"Yes. Of course we never thought that the reason behind this whole thing could possibly be that Daniel had a baby brother... the search looked more like someone was interested in him professionally," he says.

"That was actually my fault. Sandburg wasn't sure whether or not Jackson would want him to contact him in the first place. It was driving him crazy so I suggested that he look into his background to try and see whether or not his presence would be too disruptive in his brother's life... if they had enough in common that they could reasonably expect to get along. We had no idea that he worked for the Air Force, if we had..."

"So the question is what are we going to do now?" interrupts the Colonel.

"Well, I guess that will probably be mostly up to Jackson, though I can tell you that Blair will want to get to know him," I say.

"And Daniel is going to want to get to know his brother, no question about that... and seeing how as long as Daniel's here we are not going anywhere I'm guessing that means we are stuck with each other."

"Probably," I admit.

"So, what can you tell us about Sandburg?" he asks.

"He has a good heart, he is tougher than anyone would give him credit for, you hurt him and you'll find yourself dealing with me," I say, making absolutely sure that he understands just what I mean. "Other than that, he is bright, maybe even too bright, don't get him started on anything he is passionate about or you'll never hear the end of it, he loves long words and has more energy than the Energizer Bunny. He is also a confirmed trouble magnet so beware of falling anvils whenever he is around, what about Jackson?"

"Basically the same thing... especially the part about him being too smart for his own good and a trouble magnet. In our experience, if it can possibly happen it's certainly bound to happen to Dannyboy and if it can't, well, then chances are that it still will."

"Sounds like Sandburg alright. The man was even pronounced dead once! He's been shot, stabbed, drugged, drowned, poisoned, kidnapped and held hostage more times than I care to remember. By now we are on a first name basis with the entire staff of Cascade General and that does include the maternity ward."

"Oh boy, and now there's two of them? Do you have any idea of what that could possibly mean?" asks the Colonel, sounding more than a little horrified at the thought.

"How bad is yours?" I ask with a sinking feeling.

"As bad if not worse than Sandburg going by the sound of things. I swear sometimes we should just put a bell on him, seeing how he keeps getting himself 'misplaced'. What are you thinking, Carter?" asks the Colonel, suddenly realizing that his Major is being a little too quiet and seems to be lost in thought.

"Well, sir, going by what you are saying I was sort of wondering whether now that they are together their ability to get in trouble will increase arithmetically, exponentially or if, with a bit of luck, it will cancel itself out."

"I don't know, to be perfectly honest I'm not sure I **_want_** to know, though I thought you knew better than to expect us to get lucky when it comes to anything having to do with Daniel. Let's just say that if I had to place a bet on it, I'd bet on a worst case scenario."

"Sucker's bet, sir?"

"Of course, Major, what else did you expect?"

"Okay, sir, but what are we going to do about this? The fact is that it usually takes three of us to try to keep Daniel relatively in one piece, now that there's two of them, and going with a worst case scenario in which their ability to get in trouble increases exponentially, then I feel I must warn you that there's just no way we could possibly hope to pull it off. There's not enough of us here, not by a long shot and..."

"You are thinking too much, Carter... again... but do you really think it's going to get that bad? I mean, how much trouble could a couple of archeologists manage to get themselves into anyway?"

"Well, sir, I'd say that if we take Daniel as our basic reference then the answer to that question would probably be 'quite a lot'. And Blair is actually an anthropologist, not an archeologist."

"Whatever, he is still some sort of 'ologist' so don't get technical on me. The question is how sure are you of your figures 'cos if you're right then we are in trouble here."

"As I said, sir, from a mathematical perspective that would be the most likely scenario based on the information that is currently available to me and assuming that their ability to find trouble increases exponentially. Of course there are also other variables that must be..."

"Forget it... and the good news is? There's got to be some good news **_somewhere_**."

"I guess the good news would be that there's two of them rather than three or four, sir."

"I guess that's something," mutters O'Neill, sounding far from convinced.

I listen to what she is saying carefully and I look at the Colonel, keeping an eye on his reactions, on the interaction between the two of them, hoping that it will provide me with at least **_some_** answers. If the Major's words are anything to go by then she really is a scientist, someone who could reasonably be expected to be working on something having to do with deep space telemetry, unlike either one of her companions, and that adds another piece to the puzzle that is the unusual set of skills that is to be found within this particular group. I really wish Sandburg were here, I wish we could discuss this but it's going to have to wait. There are more pressing matters right now. We'll have time to try and figure this one out later.

Right now my top priority is to make sure that my partner is safe and with that in mind I tune out the conversation that is going on around me and I focus instead on the one that is currently taking place in Simon's office.


	10. Chapter 10: The Masks We Wear

_For disclaimers see chapter 1_

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 10: The Masks We Wear  
(Daniel's POV)

I still can't believe that this kid's my brother out of all things. The truth is that after all these years it's almost too much for me to wrap my mind around that concept. This is the last thing I was expecting to find when I boarded the plane that brought me here but there's no question in my mind that he is telling the truth. There's something in the way he talks, in the way he moves, that is deeply familiar... and in a way that is the problem when he asks me what I've been up to for the past thirty nine years or so. Okay so maybe the problem has more to do with the last nine years, rather than with the thirty years that came before them but that's not really the point.

The point is that the first part of the story is easy enough but after that things do get complicated... how am I supposed to explain what happened when I went public with my theories or the insanity that's been my life ever since? The truth is that I don't think I can. I had never really given much thought to how deeply intertwined my life has become with the stargate program until now when I'm struggling with the realization of how much I **_can't_** tell him. The truth is that the fact that I don't have a family of my own means that the whole issue of the secrets I have to keep had never been much of an issue and I wasn't prepared to have it ambush me here and now. Unlike most of the people I work with I don't even have a half-believable cover story... I've never needed it before.

The thing is that ever since I went public with my theories, and especially in the years since I came back from Abydos, my social life has been mostly restricted to the SGC where my past is known and not an issue but here I'm dealing with an entirely different situation. This is not something I'm used to and I can't help but feel like I'm treading on very thin ice and I fear that the slightest mistake could easily turn into a major disaster.

The problem is that I don't want to lie to my brother but at the same time I know telling him the truth is not an option either. It's a delicate balance I'm having to try to maintain and even though I'm doing my best to be careful I am well aware that in my excitement I've let slip a couple of things I shouldn't have, things that could have led to some rather awkward questions --things I'm not willing to deny, like my marriage to Sha're-- but luckily he doesn't seem to have noticed any of my little indiscretions. Still, I have to be more careful if I don't want to get us both in trouble and I know it.

The point is that I haven't been particularly successful in lying to him but at least I have the rather doubtful comfort of knowing that I'm not alone in that regard. We are both keeping secrets here. Even though I've just met the kid the truth is that it was almost painful to watch him admit to being a fraud... especially because if the information Sam and Jack have managed to gather on him and Ellison is anything to go by, then he is as much of a fraud as I am, the only difference is that he is keeping his secrets out of loyalty whereas mine have to do mostly with issues of national security.

And that brings me to the question of how much does he know about me. I know there's too much I don't know about him and even the information Sam's managed to find on him has suddenly been rendered mostly irrelevant because it approached the riddle that is Blair Sandburg from the wrong angle. What I need to know has nothing to do with Blair Sandburg, anthropologist and self-confessed fraud and everything to do with Blair Sandburg, the man who would admit to a non-existent fraud to keep those he cares about safe.

Yes, I know why he did it, or at least I think I know. Having found myself dealing with the shadier side of the military more than once I can understand the dangers his dissertation posed and I can't help but admire him for what he did... not that I can tell him that, after all, I'm not supposed to know anything about it in the first place.

That is what makes me feel like this situation is so utterly insane.

The thing is that this whole trip was based on a false premise, one that assumed that Blair Sandburg represented a threat, however minor, to the SGC's security and we prepared ourselves accordingly. Our unofficial mission statement was to make sure he gave up his inquiries by convincing him that I had renounced my crazy theories, that I knew better. It was a simple enough mission I guess... or it would have been if he had been looking into the SGC in the first place, but none of the things I had planned had prepared me for the reality of what I found when I got here. None of it had prepared me to face the fact that I have a brother.

What I do know is that he was right when he said that even thinking about the relationship between us in those terms sounds more than a little weird, in fact I suspect it is weirder for me than it is for him. He has known about me for a while now, he's had time to come to terms with my existence and even before he received his mother's letter he must have known that there was a possibility that he could have a half-brother somewhere... for me that was never something I thought was a real option. I knew my parents, both of them and I knew I was an only child, end of story... or so I thought.

Well, the good news is that we've got time, time to get to know each other... and I'm looking forward to it. I don't know him but I think I'm going to like him. The information Sam's managed to find on him is interesting enough, he obviously has a brain and there are enough similarities between us to make this work, the only problem are our secrets --both his and mine-- and that means that we will have no choice but to keep our masks on.

I wish it could be different, I really do, but at the same time I know there's nothing I can do about it. We may be brothers but we are also adults, we have a background and a history that we don't share... a history we **_can't_** share. We both have loyalties that have to come first. I may not like the idea of having to lie to him but I do understand why those lies are necessary and in spite of those difficulties what I've found here today is more than I could have dared to hope for.

For over thirty years now I've been alone. Sure, there was Nick, at least on paper, but he was never there for me, not really... not when I needed him to be. He was never a constant presence in my life and now here I am. I am looking into my brother's eyes and I am struck by the realization that I'm not alone, that I have a family beyond the one I've managed to make for myself at the SGC, beyond the one I left behind on Abydos, the one I lost to Apophis first and then to the fight against the Goa'uld in general.

I'm not alone and that is a thought that is most definitely going to take some getting used to.


	11. Chapter 11: Watching and Listening

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 11: Watching and Listening  
(Jack's POV)

I've got to say that of all the scenarios we never considered when we left the mountain this morning this was certainly high on the list. We were ready to find someone looking into Daniel's theories, someone who was about to stumble into one of this country's best kept secrets. We were also ready to find someone with some sort of really dark and nefarious purpose but we were definitely **_not_** ready for what was waiting for us here.

We were ready to face someone who could pose a serious threat to the SGC and we were determined to neutralize that threat by whatever means necessary before it could inflict any sort of damage. That was what we were expecting... that or for this whole thing to be some sort of ploy by one of about a dozen different agencies that have been trying to get their fingers in on the SGC for a while. The thing is that there were a number of possible scenarios we had seriously contemplated and we had devised a number of possible plans to handle what we believed to be every conceivable contingency... with the **_believed_** in 'what we believed' being the operative word. The point is that we missed our mark by about a mile and instead of finding ourselves facing a potential threat Carter and I have found ourselves killing time in the break room of a police department and wondering how could we possibly have been so wrong...

We were ready for a number of things that could possibly have been waiting for us here in Cascade but we weren't ready for the revelation that Daniel apparently has a little brother, the product of a one night stand his father had with a woman Daniel had never even heard of. When compared to everything we deal with on a regular basis it sounds so mundane and yet here we are, cooped up in a break room with a detective and a police captain, trying to maintain the pretense of making small talk while we are itching to be in there with our archeologist, making sure that he is fine... well at least I know I'm itching to be in there and I suspect that Carter feels the same way.

The funny thing is that I'm not questioning whether this whole story is true or not. The kid may not look that much like Daniel but then again they are half brothers, not long lost twins so I guess that's to be expected and there is enough of a family resemblance, especially in their eyes, that the whole thing actually makes sense. Still the things that seem most alike between the two of them are not the most obvious ones. Their similarities are not the ones that are easily defined but rather something that is far more subtle... and those similarities are definitely there and there's no denying that. Call it an instinct but I'm certain that what that letter says is nothing but the truth... and that means we are going to have no choice but to get to know both the kid and Detective Ellison who currently seems to be... listening?

Now that is an interesting twist. I try to focus on the sounds around me, trying to figure out what's caught his attention but no matter how hard I try there doesn't seem to be anything there other than the ordinary sounds one would normally associate with a police department, or almost with any office for that matter, and even those sounds are muffled by the closed door. I turn and look at Carter only to find that she too seems to be studying the detective and then I remember what she told me about the kid's dissertation... a dissertation about a man with heightened senses.

I try to go over what I remember of the whole story in my mind, trying to add this little tidbit to the information I had before I walked into this building. It wasn't just that Sandburg had claimed to have found a man with heightened senses, it was that he had actually given that man a name: Jim Ellison... and if what Carter suspects --and the good detective's record suggests-- is correct, if the kid **_didn't_** fake his diss at all, then it would be possible for the detective to be keeping an ear on what's going on in that office.

Can he really hear what Sandburg and Daniel are saying right now without using some sort of parabolic mic or other such equipment? It seems impossible but then again what do I know. The thing is that when Carter mentioned heightened senses I never really pictured something like this but the more I think about it the more likely that explanation becomes for what I'm seeing here.

The special forces part of my brain can't help but go over the evidence and think of the things a man with senses heightened to such a degree would be able to accomplish in the field... either at the SGC or elsewhere. I know that is not why we are here, that's not why we came... we came here to find if we had a leak, if somehow someone had managed to put two and two together and yet it seems that we've found so much more.

The problem is that while I'm almost drooling just thinking of the things Ellison would be able to accomplish if I could find some way to talk him into joining us, the fact remains that there's nothing I can do about it and I know it. My hands are tied because after all the SGC is supposed to be a secret so I can't just come out and ask him outright if he's interested. Besides, this whole thing is far more complicated than that. What he could do at the SGC is just the tip of the iceberg. As far as I'm concerned there's also the fact that this whole situation is terribly unjust. I'm not happy at the thought that Daniel is alone in the captain's office trying to get to know his brand new brother, I wish I could be there to make sure he's fine and now all of a sudden I discover that the detective is cheating by listening in on them... can we say **_not fair_**?

He is the one who suggested we give Sandburg and Daniel 'some privacy' in the first place! Well if he wanted them to have some privacy then he shouldn't be listening in... or if he's going to be eavesdropping anyway then the least he could do is share. It's not just **_his_** friend who is trying to get to know his new brother... it's **_my_** geek in there too! And the worst part is that I know I_ **can't **_say anything about it simply because I'm not supposed to know anything about it in the first place. Even after all these years sometimes I still really hate playing these games... whether they are necessary or not... and as much as it pains me to admit it I have to say that chances are that this time around they actually **_are_** necessary.

The thing is that if what I suspect is right then there is a very good reason why Ellison is trying to keep a low profile --even if his record as the best detective ever in the history of Washington State would seem to suggest that he's failing miserably in that regard-- and while I know that what someone like him would be able to do for the SGC would make him invaluable, I also know that if other parties were to learn of his existence then the damage he could be forced to inflict would be truly devastating. That is not a chance I'm prepared to take and that means I have to be careful **_not_** to reveal his secret, not to make any moves that could possibly leave him exposed. That means I have to stay put unless I see some sort of evidence that we may be heading for trouble here, and up until now I haven't seen anything to suggest that so I keep my tongue, my curiosity and my knowledge to myself... and for the record that's not an easy thing for me to do under the circumstances.

From what I've read about Detective Ellison I know he is basically a good man who's gone through hell. I can't imagine what I would have done if the Air Force had forgotten me in the middle of nowhere for a year and a half like the Army forgot him, I was left with enough bitterness after four months in Iraq, though of course at least he **_wasn't_** a prisoner at the time and that may have made all the difference. The thing is that even though he is a good man that doesn't mean he is invulnerable and I know several parties who would most definitely be interested in a man of his abilities... parties that wouldn't hesitate to break him to their will if need be by whatever means necessary to turn him into a tool they could use to their advantage.

I shake my head as I realize that I must be slipping. I forgot that Ellison is more than just a detective, I forgot that his training basically mirrors my own and that means I'm in trouble 'cos I've been staring at him for long enough to have drawn his attention. That's not a good sign though luckily he doesn't say anything about it. Those games I mentioned earlier, those games I don't necessarily enjoy playing? Those games have already begun and there's nothing I can do about that now. It is a twisted game we are playing here, one I've played countless times before. I know and he knows I know but he can acknowledge that he knows what I know without also acknowledging the truth of what I know.

And here I thought that, after years of traveling to other worlds, our little trip to Cascade would probably turn out to be dull by comparison.


	12. Chapter 12: Trouble Brewing

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1  
_**  
Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 12: Trouble Brewing  
(Jim's POV)

The good news is that things between Sandburg and his brother seem to be progressing nicely... and I really needed some good news right about now, seeing how I'm all but certain that Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter have figured out that there's something strange going on here. The way in which they are looking at me is more than a little suspicious and definitely **_not_** what I would consider to be a good sign... especially not coming from the military.

I am not naive, I can't afford to be. We are dealing with a black ops specialist here and the fact is that he wouldn't be here if he hadn't done his homework... heck, these people have to have done their homework simply to have found us and with the clearance the colonel is likely to have their background check on us is likely to have been far more thorough than anything Sandburg and I may have hoped to run on Jackson.

That means that even in a best case scenario they are well aware of Sandburg's dissertation... and I wouldn't put it past them to have figured it all out if they had access to the transcript of my own debriefing after I came back from Peru. Brackett managed to do it and he certainly had less to go on. Brackett figured it out even though he didn't have a dissertation --discredited or not-- that explained everything that was to be found in that report in the first place. That means that their suspecting that the fraud story is a fraud is not out of the realm of possibility. That is not a comforting thought, far from it, but it is one I know I can't afford to dismiss... not with as much as Sandburg and I have riding on that secret being maintained.

The thing is that if they were suspicious before they even came here then I'm afraid that I may just have given up the game with my attempt to keep an ear on Simon's office. I really should have known better than that, I really should have been more careful but I'm afraid I just allowed my worry over my partner's well-being to get the best of me at a time when I could ill afford it. It was a stupid mistake but I know it's too late. There's nothing I can do to undo the damage... all I can do is play the fool and hope that Sandburg and I will manage to find a way to make it out of the mess I just got us into. It's either that or to hope that my companions are worried enough about their own friend to have overlooked my little slip, but I'm not holding out too much hope in that regard.

I won't deny that I'm worried. Right now my partner is in Simon's office trying to get his bearings after being suddenly confronted with a brother he wasn't even sure he should contact in the first place... even if he really wanted to get to know him. It is only natural for me to assume that the encounter will be more than a little stressful and I can't help but think that I really should be in there in the flesh. That is where I belong, by my partner's side... and being out here is killing me. Sure, I can send in my senses, I can keep track of everything they are saying, of every move they make, I can even piggyback sight to hearing and see them as they talk but it's not the same. It's not the same as being there if I'm needed... being out here is definitely not the same as being able to offer some comfort to my partner if something were to go wrong in there.

Yes, I know this is not about me, I know my partner is a grown man, I know he is more than capable of handling this and I should respect his privacy... or at least the rational part of my brain knows it, but the thing is that the rational part of my brain is not where the sentinel lives. The sentinel in me has a prime directive: to keep the guide safe at all costs, and he perceives this whole situation as a threat to the guide, something that makes being out here a form of torture. That instinctive need to protect the guide is not a selfless position nor is it one I am particularly proud of but the fact is that the sentinel knows he can't survive without the guide and that means that keeping Blair safe is to me a form of self-preservation.

The problem is that while there are some threats I can protect him from... or I can at least **_try_** to protect him from, this situation is not one of them. I know the situation in there is one that could degenerate very quickly and I know that would be very painful for my guide, but at the same time I know the threat is not a physical one and there is nothing I can do to help him this time around. In fact so far I've only managed to make matters worse by drawing attention to what we are and that was most definitely **_not_** part of the plan.

On top of that there is also the fact that even if everything turns out fine I'm still going to have a hard time trying to convince the sentinel in me that this whole thing is for the best. It's not just the thought that things could go wrong in there that has my inner sentinel in such a turmoil... it's the fear that they will work out. I am the Sentinel of the Great City and Blair is my Guide and Shaman. Up until now that had been a given and there had been no external pressures on our partnership but right now I'm afraid that may be about to change. Sandburg wanted desperately to meet his brother from the moment he first learned that the man existed and if the colonel's words are anything to go by then Jackson is likely to want to establish a close relationship with my guide... and even though I hate to admit it the fact is that I don't know how I feel about that.

In a way seeing Sandburg and Jackson together was somewhat strange. There are plenty of differences and similarities between the two of them and in spite of the colonel's words I think Jackson is probably more subdued than my partner however the colonel's concerns as to what will happen now that the two of them are together may well turn out to be valid ones. I don't know Jackson but I do realize that things could get more than a little hairy if he turns out to be half as much of a trouble magnet as Sandburg is. That is something we may want to keep an eye on. Right now I can only hope the major and the colonel were exaggerating about that, after all, they have no real experience when it comes to dealing with the Sandburg Zone... not like I do.

That ability to get into trouble that my partner seems to possess is something I've had a hard time trying to understand... at times it almost seems to defy the most basic laws of nature but it is a source of real concern, it is something I'm painfully aware that I have to compensate for.

I know I sometimes tease Blair a little too much about his uncanny ability to find trouble but the truth is that I can't help myself... even though I know it's not entirely fair. Yes, it's true that my partner gets in trouble on a weekly basis but for the most part he is just as good at getting himself out of trouble as he is at getting himself into it... well, I did say for the most part.

Of course, I know it's not so simple as the mere ability to find trouble. It took me a while but I've finally managed to figure out **_why_** my partner has such an unusual talent for finding trouble and I'm afraid that if what I've seen of his brother is anything to go by then the colonel and the major were both right in that it is a trait the two of them are likely to share and that in turn is something that could easily spell disaster for the rest of us.

The thing is that Sandburg has a tendency to let his enthusiasm do the thinking for him and his brother seems to be a lot like him in that regard. I know Blair is a genius but unfortunately he is also a bit of an absent-minded professor who is currently working as a detective and --all teasing aside-- I suspect that is the root of the problem. He has a tendency to see most things from an intellectual perspective and he often fails to consider the practical ramifications of those things. He is so dogged at times in his determination to follow even the smallest lead that he often forgets to consider what he may encounter at the end of the trail... and that is one trait I fear he may well share with his brother.

Simply put, in Sandburg's case the problem is that even after all these years --and more kidnappings than I care to remember-- he still believes that human beings are essentially good and the job we do keeps placing him in the path of individuals who are anything but. That is a recipe for disaster and one that, if what I've seen of the way in which the major and the colonel move and operate is anything to go by, is also likely to accurately describe the kind of situations their own absent-minded professor has a tendency to find himself in.

I know my little theory is nothing but a lame attempt at rationalization but it is the closest I've been able to come to finding something that could possibly be described as some sort of logical explanation short of blaming the whole thing on karma... and 'karma' is an explanation that makes me cringe, one that makes me fear that I've been hanging around Naomi too much. As far as I'm concerned it's either that or that my partner has a truly unbelievable bad luck.

Of course, the fact that I understand the reason **_why_** Sandburg is such a trouble magnet does not mean I'm not worried about the situation, it just means that I've learned what to look for in order to keep him safe, though I'm not willing to take any chances by blindly ignoring Major Carter's careful calculations. If Jackson is anything like Sandburg then all the rationalizations in the world won't change the fact that now that the two of them are together the rest of us are likely to find ourselves working overtime to keep them reasonably in one piece... and whether I like it or not, whether I trust them or not, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter have just become my backup in that regard.

I wonder if the colonel has ever heard the term 'Blessed Protector'...


	13. Chapter 13: What Tomorrow Brings

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 13: What Tomorrow Brings  
(Blair's POV)

It's been an interesting day to say the least. All I can say is that I never thought that today was going to be the day in which I got to meet my brother... in fact this morning I was all but resigned to the fact that I was never going to meet the man. I had wanted to... desperately. Up until today everything I had managed to find out about him had seemed to indicate that we would get along just fine but at the same time I knew there were other aspects I had to consider, elements I knew I couldn't afford to overlook, like his connection to the military. To me that was the determining factor... the risk I knew I couldn't afford to take.

Yes, I wanted to meet him but I also knew that Jim and I couldn't afford to attract any sort of military attention, we still can't, and that had to come first. We are skating on thin enough ice as it is and we are both painfully aware of that fact... and I knew there was no way I could hope to contact my brother without causing someone to look into our records somewhere. I knew that if I were to try to contact my brother we would inevitably be letting the military into our lives in some capacity, there was no way around that, not really. Of course, in the end how I felt about it turned out to be irrelevant because the decision was taken out of my hands as a result of my own curiosity.

In a sense I'm not even sure why I was surprised when Daniel walked into the bullpen earlier today. I really should have realized that I had drawn someone's attention while I was looking into his background... in fact I know I should have given up my search as soon as I realized that he was working for the military and that the systems I was trying to break into were far more complex than anything I had ever attempted before but I didn't. My curiosity got the best of me and today's encounter was a direct consequence of that fact.

In a way I know we lucked out. Even if we are not quite out of the woods just yet the fact is that things could certainly have turned out much worse than they did... but still I know better than to let my guard down now. Yes, it's true that my brother seems like a really nice guy and his friends seem to be honest enough but at the same time I know better than to take any chances. The people we met today may have all seemed very nice, and Jim hasn't indicated that he has picked up any signs that something funny may be going on here, but we still don't know who they are working for and that is far from a comforting thought... and that's not all. To make matters worse there's also the fact that we don't really know what prompted them to come to Cascade in the first place, especially considering that during our meeting it was apparent that they **_didn't_** know why it was that I was looking into Daniel's files.

I guess in the end it all boils down to the fact that Jim and I can't afford to get cocky because we still don't know who else may know something about my little search and who else may have questions concerning Jim and I.

One thing I do know with absolute certainty, however, is that what we got today was not the whole picture. If nothing else there is the fact that both Daniel and his companions made some passing references to the fact that their team has four members... which begs the question of who is that fourth member and where is he. I am confident that we are not being watched by him... Jim would have almost certainly detected any form of mechanical surveillance and he would have pointed it out to me. That is a source of some comfort but I admit I'm still somewhat concerned about that missing team member... of course I also understand that they are a team, not conjoined twins so maybe the fourth member just stayed back in Colorado doing whatever it is that the four of them normally do.

The thing is that even though I'm happy at the thought that I've finally met my brother I am also very aware of the secrets that stand between us. He is not being honest with me and I'm not being honest with him and even though we have all the necessary ingredients for a great friendship I know for a fact that as long as those secrets stand in our way it is a relationship that will never really stand a chance.

The obvious solution would be for us to come clean with each other. That would be ideal but I am well aware that that is not a real option... for either one of us. He may be my mysterious father's son but there's no way I'm trusting Jim's secret to anyone remotely connected to the military... whether he is my brother or not. As for him, I don't know how he feels about the secrets he is keeping but I do know that even if he wanted to come clean about them, that decision probably wouldn't be up to him... that's why he has a nice colonel watching his back, which kind of begs the question of just what is an archeologist doing with an Air Force Colonel and an Air Force Major in the first place.

Yes, I freely admit that I am more than a little curious about that but I do know better than to ask. Whatever it is it screams confidential. In the end I guess that is yet another thing we have in common: we both have secrets but neither of our secrets are ours to tell.

The thing is that I can't wait until we get home. I really need to talk to Jim about all of this. I have to ask him what he thinks of our visitors. I know that while I was talking to Daniel he was talking to his companions and we really need to figure out where we stand. The fact is that even though everything turned out great today --or so it seemed-- we can't afford to be caught off guard again. It would be way too dangerous.

Daniel and his friends will be in Cascade until the day after tomorrow and hopefully that will give us a chance to get to know them better, but at the same time it means that we need to come up with a plan to deal with them and we need to come up with it **_yesterday_** because we really can't afford to make a mistake here.

Yes, Daniel and his friends seem nice enough but that doesn't mean that we won't be spending tomorrow under a military magnifying glass and that means we will have to be careful... very careful... but still, I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow I'll get to spend the day getting to know my brother better and I still can't quite wrap my mind around that concept.

I'm looking forward to spending the day with Daniel and his companions, I'm looking forward to the chance to get to know him better... and his friends. I don't know what it is that the three of them do but I can see how close they are. Daniel may be my brother but I can tell that they are a package deal, just like Jim and I, and I can't help but wonder what led to that familiarity in the first place. At first glance they seem like such a mismatched group, though of course Jim and I don't have much of a right to say anything about that. How many people have been surprised by the connection between the two of us? I can't even pretend that I am in any position to make a guess as to what the figure would be and yet here we are, baffling them even after all these years.

It's been an eventful day, that is for sure, but over all I have to say that it's also been a great day. I met my brother today and he doesn't hate me... he even wants to get to know me better and **_that_** may well have been the biggest surprise of them all.


	14. Chapter 14: Strange Bedfellows

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 14: Strange Bedfellows  
(Blair's POV, sort of)

"So, chief, how did it really go with Daniel?" asks Jim as soon as he closes the loft's door behind us.

"Are you trying to tell me that you **_didn't_** listen in?" I tease him.

"Sorry about that, I was worried, but that's not what I meant... how did it go?"

"It went great... though I still can't quite believe this is actually happening, I mean, that I have a brother and he's actually here, you know? Though I have to say that at the same time I'm also kind of worried by how they tracked us down. That could be a problem, especially because they are military, we don't have the first clue as to what it is that they are involved with and..."

"Breathe, Sandburg."

"Sorry, it's just that..."

"We have too many questions they are unlikely to be willing to answer?" asks Jim.

"Pretty much. So, what do you think?"

"Well, I don't think they are out to get us but while you were talking to Jackson I was keeping an eye on his companions. I hate to tell you this, chief, but I think they know about me."

"**_What?_**"

"I was probing them, trying to figure out how they tracked us down and some of their reactions seemed to indicate that they knew more than they should... they did a good job of trying to cover it but not quite good enough to fool a sentinel. I knew I couldn't ask outright without blowing my cover but let's just say that the circumstantial evidence certainly points toward them knowing."

"Oh man, that's not good, that's **_so_** not good... if they've figured it out then..."

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it," he interrupts.

"Okay, what do we know about them... we have to find something we can use here, big guy. We need some sort of leverage here and we need it **_yesterday_**."

"Well, Jackson is your brother, he's the one we know the most about. O'Neill is a colonel and he was covert ops... and **_very_** good at it if the stories I've heard about him are anything to go by. Major Carter is some sort of scientist."

"According to Daniel she's a theoretical astrophysicist," I say, trying to help Jim fill in the blanks.

"Strange group, don't you think?"

"Tell me about it... the whole thing sounds like the setup for some lame joke. I mean, a soldier, an archeologist and an astrophysicist walk into a bar..."

"So what could they possibly be doing working together for the military?"

"**_Not_** deep space telemetry, that much is obvious, though I would believe it from Major Carter," I say.

"No, you are right... and even there the theoretical part doesn't quite add up," Jim agrees.

"What do you mean?"

"The way she moves... she may be a theoretical astrophysicist but the way she moves would seem to suggest that she is used to combat situations... and that's not the kind of scenario in which you are likely to find an Air Force theoretical astrophysicist in the first place. Whatever it is that they do, it is something that the Air Force believes is important enough to put her on the line of fire... and that's not something they take lightly. Let's just say that they do know better than to jeopardize the brain where the brawn will do."

"So we can assume that whatever it is that they do is **_not_** theoretical."

"I can pretty much guarantee it, chief."

"And that brings us back to the original question of what could possibly have brought them together... somehow I don't think it was a coincidence," I say.

"No, it wasn't. Whatever it is that they do I can pretty much promise that that team was not put together by chance and they are used to relying on each other, probably for their lives... and that definitely includes Jackson, even though he's not officially a member of the military."

"What do you mean?"

"He's as involved with whatever it is that they are doing as a 'civilian consultant' as you were when you were just a 'civilian observer'... and I can tell you that that's **_not_** SOP for the military. Civilians are not sent out to the front lines unless the circumstances are truly exceptional, not to mention that as far as we know they are stationed in **_Colorado_**... not exactly what I would describe as a well known battlefield. Did he tell you anything that could possibly give us a clue as to what is really going on?"

"I'm not sure, he was careful, guarded but he did let one thing slip: he mentioned that his wife died a few years ago..."

"But according to what we've been able to find there's no record of him ever being married in the first place so we have another neat little mystery to add to our growing collection of neat little mysteries, right?" asks Jim.

"Exactly... if he had been a suspect I would have said that he was definitely hiding something, but I'm not sure what it is. I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Well, at least we have something... we have one year missing and one nonexistent marriage that resulted in a nonexistent dead wife. Can we assume that that marriage took place during our missing year?"

"Yes, that would seem to be the most logical scenario," I agree.

"So what do we know of what he was doing **_before_** he vanished?" asks Jim.

"That's the strange part. Up until that point he was a bright young archeologist with some radical theories that the pyramids were much older than anyone thought and were actually built by aliens... needless to say no one was taking him seriously," I say, shaking my head.

"Aliens? As in little green men from outer space?" asks Jim in total disbelief.

"I know, it sounds crazy... wait a second... what did you just say?"

"Little green men from outer space?"

"Oh man, outer space, that's got to be it!"

"Okay, chief, slow down 'cos I'm not following you here."

"This is going to sound even crazier than Daniel's ideas, I know, but what if he was right?" I ask.

"**_WHAT?_**"

"Think about it... what could possibly bring together an archeologist **_who believes that the pyramids were built by aliens_**, a not-quite-theoretical astrophysicist and and Air Force colonel with a background in covert ops? We've been thinking of Daniel as an archeologist without really focusing on his theories and that was why this picture didn't seem to make any sense at all but the thing is that if his theories were right, if the pyramids **_were_** built by aliens and the Air Force has somehow managed to make contact..."

"Then bringing their combined skills together would actually make sense," whispers Jim.

"Exactly."

* * *

_**Author's note**_: In case anyone here was reading my other story, "Under Alien Skies-Propagation" and missed last week's update. The rating has been temporarily changed to "M" due to a somewhat disturbing cliffhanger. Seeing how the defaul setting excludes "M" rated stories from category listings that may have caused a bit of trouble for some of you. 


	15. Chapter 15: Stuck Together With You

**_For disclaimer see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather

Chapter 15: Stuck Together With You  
(Daniel's POV)

"So, Daniel, a little brother?" asks Jack as soon as we arrive back at the hotel.

"Yes, I mean wow. It's like..."

"Twenty plus languages and that's the best you can come up with?" he teases me.

"Very funny, Jack... besides it's more than thirty now if you count alien languages but that's not the point. It's just that..."

"That it's a lot to take in?"

"That's one way of putting it," I agree.

"And the other would be what? 'Wow'?"

"I guess. It's just that this whole thing is going to take some serious getting used to... especially after so many years, you know?"

"Yeah, I imagine it will. So how did things go with Blair?"

"Great! We couldn't really talk much but I think we'll get along just fine... well as fine as we can considering the distance between Cascade and Colorado Springs but still..."

"So, what can you tell me about him?" he pries. Not exactly subtle but then again it's Jack.

"He's smart, he speaks nine languages which is pretty good considering he's not supposed to be a linguist in the first place..."

"I'd say that nine languages would probably be a pretty good number even for a linguist," Jack points out.

"Yes, I guess you are right. Anyway, he studied anthropology and his specialty had to do mostly with pre-Columbian civilizations and native American cultures. Of course that was before he was forced to become a detective after that mess with his diss... do you have any idea of just what that means?"

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway," he says with a resigned sigh.

"It's just that if we could get him into the SGC... I mean, I'm an egyptologist and that's been very useful considering that Goa'uld culture seems to be mostly based on Ancient Egypt, but we have encountered the descendants of some civilizations that are not really connected with Egypt in any way and even though I can get by when dealing with those that relate mostly to Africa, Asia or Europe due to the high level of cross-pollination between them, the truth is that whenever we have to face the descendants of American civilizations I find myself somewhat out of my depth... and if we were ever to run into a Goa'uld claiming to be Quetzalcoatl or Huitzilopochtli I'd **_really_** be lost..."

"Huit what? How can you even pronounce that?" asks Jack, not that I blame him. I may speak over thirty languages but Nahuatl is certainly **_not_** one of them and the truth is that it will probably never be, which is why the possibility of recruiting someone with Blair's background is so appealing.

"Actually those are two of the easy ones... if you want a real tongue twister you should try something like Tlahuixcalpantecuhtli. Still, that's not the point. The point is that pre-Columbian civilizations are **_ not_** my specialty and even though so far we've only encounter their descendants on a handful of planets I admit that they do give me a hard time. You see, the underlying principles behind those cultures are just too different for me to adjust my own experiences to compensate. Besides, before the cover stone was dropped on my lap I was more used to going on digs than expeditions, Blair's specialty is in dealing with isolated **_living_** cultures and..."

"Whoa, Danny, slow down. I'm not sure I'm following you but need I remind you that you just met the man a few hours ago? I mean, I get that you are excited, I really do, but you are already thinking about bringing him on board and having him join the SGC... don't you think you may be getting just a little bit ahead of yourself here?"

"I know, but think about it. I mean, he could come in really handy and if Sam was right about Jim being a sentinel then..."

"Oh, she was right about that, believe me but still..."

"What do you mean she was right about that? What happened?" I ask, caught totally off guard.

"Well, let's just say that I'm pretty sure he was listening in on the two of you and there's no way he could have done that if Sandburg had been lying in the first place."

"Do you have any idea of how much help they could be?" I ask. "I mean, if you look at what the two of them have accomplished here as detectives and try to imagine what they could do on the field out there... can you imagine what they could do in terms of locating missing teams and tracking Goa'uld movements without being detected?"

"And have you even considered that we may have no way to bring them on board in the first place? I know you are excited, Daniel, but you just met the man and I have to tell you that he doesn't look like he is looking for yet another career change... besides, you do remember that pesky little detail about the stargate program being highly classified, don't you?"

"Yes, but..."

"I'm not saying it's never going to happen," Jack reassures me. "I can see how they could be a great asset for the SGC but the truth is that right now is too early for you to even be thinking about that... besides I have to say that some of the things Ellison mentioned would seem to indicate that he is not particularly fond of the idea of attracting military attention to himself --not that I blame him-- and I don't see those two splitting up no matter what."

"Why? What did he say?"

"That he was the one who told Blair to check your background but that he never would have suggested it if he'd known that you were affiliated with the military in the first place."

"Why?"

"Think about it from his perspective. Try to imagine what a Maybourne or a Kinsey **_wouldn't_** do to get their hands on someone with his very special skills... or the damage they could do."

"I know, but let's face it, they are exposed already. If Sam could figure it out in a matter of minutes so could someone else and maybe they'd be safer at the SGC."

"I know that, you know that, Carter knows that but we can't tell them that... not without coming clean ourselves," he reminds me.

"In other words we are stuck?"

"We are stuck."


	16. Chapter 16: Not Superman

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 16: Not Superman  
(Daniel's POV)

I'm staring at the ceiling of our hotel room. Jack is snoring on the other bed and I'm doing my best to come to terms with the idea that I'm not likely to get any sleep at all tonight... what is it about hotels that causes mattresses to turn into torture devices? I don't know, I can usually sleep pretty much anywhere regardless of whether or not I have a bed available to me but for some reason I've never been able to get a good night's sleep while sleeping in a hotel... of course, this time around there may well be another reason for that. The truth is that today --or was that yesterday-- my whole world got suddenly turned upside down and I'm still trying to come to terms with everything that's happened.

I have a brother, that realization is finally beginning to sink in and while I'm delighted by this latest development, it is a development that also brings some less than pleasant revelations with it, some painful truths I'm going to have no choice but to come to terms with. As I told Blair, I'm glad I have a brother regardless of how he came about but the thing is that for the past thirty years I've had this image of my parents, of what my life would have been like if that cover stone hadn't... and now I'm suddenly being forced to confront the fact that the perfect family I remember may not have been quite so perfect after all because the simple fact is that if it had been then Blair wouldn't be here.

Yes, I'm delighted by the fact that I have a brother, I'm delighted by the fact that I'm not alone and the fact remains that that was the most important revelation of the day but that does nothing to change the fact that my newly discovered brother is only a half-brother... a half-brother I got because my father cheated on my mother. That is the other side of today's revelation, the side that is going to be far more difficult for me to come to terms with... the one that tells me that I don't know much more about my father than my brother does.

I was eight years old when my parents died and all my memories of them are colored by that eight year-old's perceptions. That is something I've known for quite some time on a rational level but up until today I had never had a reason to look into that image any deeper than that and right now I'm scared to death of what I might find if I were to start digging. In a way my parents' deaths made it possible for me to hold on to an uncomplicated perception of them that would have crumbled on its own if they had lived a little bit longer... if they had lived long enough for me to reach my teens and start questioning the things I saw around me.

It is the idea of coming to terms with a tarnished image of my father that is contributing to my inability to sleep tonight. It is an idea that has me wondering who my parents really were. All I have are the memories of an eight year old child who still believed his dad could fly, an eight year old who was suddenly and painfully confronted with his parents' mortality but at the same time an eight year old who never had a chance to get to know his parents as fallible human beings.

What caused the fight that led to Blair's birth? I'll never know... I'll never even know if my dad's one night stand with his mother was an isolated incident or if it was something that was ongoing... something that happened more than once. The truth is that there are a number of things I've always wondered about my parents and there are also quite a few answers I've sought but the one that was presented to me today wasn't one of them. Over the years what I've managed to find out about my parents has had more to do with who they were as archeologists than with who they were as human beings but if what I learned here today is anything to go by then I'm not sure I want to know.

When I was eight my dad was the coolest guy in the world. I was sure he could fly and in my eyes he was indestructible... at least until I saw him die right in front of me... and now here I am, thirty years later, being suddenly and unexpectedly confronted with his humanity just like I was suddenly and unexpectedly confronted with his mortality all those years ago and the truth is that I can't help but feel betrayed. I'm getting ready to spend tomorrow getting to know my brother, getting to know the living proof that my dad wasn't as perfect as I thought he was... getting to know the living proof that he wasn't Superman.


	17. Chapter 17: That Awkward Morning After

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 17: That Awkward Morning After  
(Blair's POV)

There's something that feels off this morning, though I can't quite put my finger on what it is, something that's been bothering me ever since we picked up Daniel and the others from their hotel... of course, truth be told, I'm not sure we are not to blame, after all Jim and I are not exactly relaxed ourselves. We can't be, not with as much as we have riding on this little encounter. The simple truth is that this whole thing is one big tangled mess and we know it. There's the future of my relationship with Daniel at stake, that is the obvious part, but then on top of that there's our secret and their secret and the fact that we know their secret and they know our secret. Finally, as if that weren't enough, the icing on the cake is the fact that we know they know our secret but they don't know we know their secret... and that final fact is the one that is actually altering the balance between us. As I said, this is all one big tangled mess and somehow we are going to have to untangle it.

The thing is that while yesterday caught us all off guard, last night gave us a chance to regroup, to come to terms with the day's developments and that was not necessarily a good thing in terms of spontaneity. That is one of the main reasons why things seem so much more strained this morning. Yesterday we were going on instinct, today we are all far more weary, more aware of how much we have at stake. Jim and I are worried about the fact that they apparently know that Jim really is a sentinel... and if what I suspect about their real work is correct then they are probably just as worried by the thought that we could possibly figure out something concerning what they do. They are worried about betraying themselves and **_that_** is something I can definitely relate to.

The problem is that if things continue the way they've been going then this is going to be a very long day... and we don't exactly have the time to spare. Daniel is here only for a couple of days and how those days turn out will hold the key to what kind of relationship we will have a chance to develop with each other. That means that we have a pretty narrow window of opportunity here and we can't afford to waste what little time we have... but we can't exactly avoid it either. The problem is that if we can't manage to move past the awkwardness then our chances to establish a good rapport between us will be gone, probably for good.

That is not a pleasant scenario and I know I can't afford to allow this tension to wreck it for us... the problem is that the alternative is terrifying. The alternative is for me to put all of our cards on the table. That is the only way and the worst part is that I know I'm the only one who can make that move. I know they know and they know I know they know... at least about the sentinel. On the other hand the fact that they probably don't know I know what it is that they do means that the ball is on my court, that the next move is up to me.

Can I afford to take that chance? It is not like I would be revealing to them something they don't already know but at the same time a decade of keeping a secret is not something I'm likely to overcome any time soon. I'm torn between seeing them as my brother and his friends and seeing them as representatives of the military, as something we've been trying to steer clear from for years and I know that if I were to make a move there would be no turning back. Is that a mistake I can afford to make? They know and I know they know, but can I afford to acknowledge that I know they know?

In the end that is probably the critical question but at the same time I know I want to get to know my brother better and there's no way I'm going to be able to do **_that_** while holding on to my own secrets... or without pushing him to reveal his. One way or another one of us is going to have to make the first move here and only one of us is aware of the full picture so that basically answers the question of **_who_** should make that move.

The whole point of spending the day together was for us to have a shot at getting to know one another but we are not going to be able to do that if we insist on keeping the other out. That is the simple truth. The problem is that even though it is a simple truth with a simple solution the fact remains that implementing that solution is a terrifying prospect. I look at Jim, silently asking for his permission to do what has to be done. The nod he gives me is almost imperceptible but after so many years I have no problem catching his meaning.

This is it, I swallow hard, turn to my brother and ask...


	18. Chapter 18: You Know I Know You Know

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 18: You Know I Know You Know, Don't You?  
(Daniel's POV)

"What did you just say?" I ask openly staring at Blair and catching a glimpse of the concerned looks on both Sam and Jack's faces.

"I asked you if you didn't think that things would be better if you were to drop the act and I told you that I'm game if you are."

"That's what I thought you said," I say, glaring at my brother, swallowing hard and trying to figure a way out of this one... unfortunately there doesn't seem to be one, not this time around.

"For what it's worth I promise we are not out to get you," he says, trying to reassure me, though I've got to say it's **_not_** working.

Not knowing what else to do --and hoping to call his bluff even though I'm fairly certain he is not bluffing-- I ask: "How did you figure it out?"

"Your theories and your combined skills, mostly," he explains, shrugging his shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I have to say that we didn't put it together until last night. Up until then it didn't seem to make sense but as far fetched as the idea that your theories were actually correct sounded at first glance, it still made far more sense than the idea that the military had an archeologist who believes that the pyramids were built by aliens working side by side with a covert-ops specialist and an astrophysicist on something having to do with deep space telemetry due to some sort of coincidence."

Well, when he puts it like that I guess it does make sense but that doesn't make this situation any less awkward... or less dangerous. Basically we came to Cascade to prevent a security breach and somehow we ended up inadvertently causing one. I don't think General Hammond is going to be happy about that... though on a positive note, last night Jack **_did_** say that one of the reasons why bringing Jim and Blair on board was **_not_** feasible was the need for secrecy and it seems to me that that need for secrecy is no longer an issue. That is a good thing, or at least a very healthy silver lining as far as I'm concerned. And that reminds me that we are not the only ones keeping secrets around here and **_that_** is something I can use to my advantage. After all, turnabout is definitely fair play.

"Yes, well, I guess I'm not the only one in this room who has gotten himself in more than his fair share of trouble for daring to believe in some crazy theory that actually turned out to be far less crazy than the 'sane people' would like to believe, am I?" I say, keeping a close eye on Blair's reaction though he doesn't seem to be all that surprised by the fact that I know. In fact if his smile is anything to go by then chances are that he already knew I knew.

I throw a quick glance Jack's way and I can see that he is not looking particularly happy about any of this, not that I was expecting him to. First of all there's the fact that we were caught so far off guard by Blair's initial comment that we lost our window of opportunity for anything remotely resembling a plausible denial --something that's not usually a good thing when you've been sworn to secrecy by your own government-- and now on top of that it is becoming increasingly apparent that even my attempts at turning the tables on them have somehow played straight into their hands. The way this is turning out it's beginning to look like my brother is holding all the aces and knowing Jack he is feeling more than a little exposed, even if it is painfully obvious that neither Blair nor Jim are a real threat, far from it.

"Fair enough," says Blair without even a glance at Jim and that is when I realize that they probably planned this whole thing last night... and in a way it does make sense. It is obvious that somehow they figured out that we knew Jim's secret and once **_that_** happened they had nothing to lose. The only problem is that while that is a perfectly rational explanation for the current situation, it is a rational explanation that **_explains_** the current situation but is not much use when it comes to **_modifying_** that situation.

"So, where do we go from here?" I ask, hating how tense things have suddenly gotten around here.

"As I told you yesterday, that's up to you, man... I just wanted to spare us all the tap dancing 'cos I don't know about you guys but as far as I'm concerned it does have a tendency to get old awfully fast. I won't lie to you, I want us to be friends and to have a chance to get to know one another... it's just that somehow I felt that all those secrets were bound to get in our way and seeing how we both knew what the other was hiding anyway, I figured we might as well come out and get rid of them altogether," he explains.

I go over his words and I can't help but realize that he is almost certainly right about that and that as awkward as things have suddenly gotten around here at least we are now finally in a position to move past all of this... and I also realize why he did it, why he was the only one who **_could_** do it. Yes, we were both trying to hold on to our secrets but the basic difference between us was that while the choice of whether or not he was willing to share his secret remained his own, Jack, Sam and I didn't really have that luxury... and the sad fact is that even though he's managed to overcome our need for silence that still doesn't mean we are in the clear.

The problem is not that he is wrong, he has in fact come to the correct conclusion and there's nothing we can do to change that. **_That_** is the problem. The problem is that seeing how he's managed to reach his own conclusions based more on a deductive process than on any hard evidence, chances are that he doesn't realize just how important the secrets we are hiding really are. He has no way of knowing that what we are hiding are not a few aliens or a weather balloon but rather a full blown war, a war that already has come close to bringing about the end of life as we know it more than once... and that means that we have a decision to make here.

The current situation is far from ideal and our best bet may well be to come clean. It is true that we've been sworn to secrecy but I suspect that that is no longer an issue. Yes, it's going to take us a while to get over the shock of this latest development, especially because the truth is that we were caught totally off guard --and I can see how **_that_** is bothering Jack more than anything else-- but that doesn't mean that we can afford to do nothing here. The fact remains that whether we like it or not this is one instance in which a full disclosure is bound to be less dangerous than a partial one. We need to get them to understand just how important keeping the secret really is and that means that we are going to have no choice but to tell Jim and Blair the whole truth.

On a positive note, that means that I will finally get a shot at **_really_** getting to know my brother. As far as I'm concerned that makes this whole **_mess_** more than worth it.


	19. Chapter 19: Chasing the Cat All Over

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 19: Chasing the Damned Cat All Over the Room  
(Jack's POV)

Okay, so this is not good and I'm wondering which one of our wonder brothers to kill first. The thing is that after yesterday's encounter I had lowered my guard enough to forget all about Carter's warning regarding the fact that Blair Sandburg sounded like someone who could possibly put two and two together and actually come up with four. That wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't because her prediction in that regard turned out to be true... I really should know better by now than to expect her to be wrong about this sort of things. On top of that it looks like Daniel has decided that given that his brother has already figured it all out on his own he can throw caution to the wind and I don't know how to get him to shut up... not that getting him to shut up **_now_** would do us much good. The cat is so far out of the bag by now that it's not even funny anymore and there's nothing I can do about it.

That means that I'm stuck trying to do some damage control here only that is usually Daniel's job, not mine... didn't he read the job description? **_I'm_** the one who says the wrong thing, **_he_** is the one who cleans up the mess, not the other way around. It's in the contract, damn it! I mean, sure, I can always strangle him later but what good is **_that_** going to do to me anyway?

Of course, I guess part of the problem is that we all let our guards down, not just Daniel, and in that regard I'm the one who should have been paying more attention. I knew Daniel wasn't exactly on board with the whole keeping things a secret scenario to begin with and I really should have done something to try and prevent this situation in the first place... not that that matters now.

The fact is that we got overconfident, we got cocky and that came back to bite us in the butt... and it also left us without a viable plan. Yesterday's little revelation did a lot more than just catch us totally off guard, it also lured us into a false sense of security and our current situation is the end result of that. When we first came to Cascade we were worried about a potential security breach and our mission was simple enough: to throw one Blair Sandburg off the trail. The problem is that the moment we became aware of Blair Sandburg's connection to Daniel Jackson our whole plan flew out the window and to make matters worse we wasted our chance last night to come up with an alternative because, after all, they **_didn't_** know what we were up to... we really should have known better.

To make matters worse there is also the fact that our original plan called for a quick trip to Cascade in which we patched things up, made sure that Sandburg **_wasn't _**on our trail and then flew into the sunset --and straight into the Pacific Ocean, going by our current location, who comes up with these clichés anyway?-- never to return. It might even have worked if it hadn't been for the fact that as soon as Daniel found out that he actually has a brother he was determined to build a relationship with that brother and that meant that the whole flying off into the sunset scenario just **_wasn't_** going to happen... of course, seeing how that probably kept us from drowning, it may have been a good thing after all.

Anyway, the point is that that meant that regardless of everything else at least Daniel was going to stay in touch with these two and given the fact that Carter had already warned me about Sandburg I **_really_** should have realized that we were going to need a long term cover story... preferably one that could actually withstand **_some_** scrutiny.

Of course, as usual, woulda, coulda, shoulda don't really help us much 'cos what we're dealing with here isn't a might have been, what we are dealing with here is a very real problem... the one posed by the fact that we have a sentinel and a guide who know **_way_** more than they should and are bound to remain an integral part of Daniel's life whether we like it or not. Yes, we should have come up with a better cover story but the fact is that we didn't and now it's **_way_** too late for us to do anything about **_that_**.

On top of that, as if that not-so-little problem weren't enough, there's also the fact that if the kid's lack of reaction to Daniel's comment is anything to go by, then chances are he already knew we knew Ellison is a sentinel... not that that's particularly surprising. Come to think of it, the truth is that it's not particularly relevant either. Sure, the fact that he knows does leave me feeling rather exposed, it leaves me feeling incredibly vulnerable and it leaves me feeling like I've lost my one and only advantage here and that is not something I'm particularly fond of but, let's face it, the kid is Daniel's brother so what was I going to do with their secret anyway? Threaten them? Blackmail them? It was a security blanket kind of leverage, one I was never going to use, and I knew it.

The good news, if it can even be called that is that I'm not particularly worried by what they could possibly do with what they know, the good news is that I can think of plenty of more dangerous scenarios in terms of who could have found out about the stargate. If nothing else my every instinct is telling me that these two are trustworthy and if I have learned anything in my life it's to trust my gut. Sure, I know this is a delicate situation but at the same time that doesn't mean I can afford to let them see how worried I am by how much they know... and that doesn't just have to do with matters of national security. If there is one thing I really **_don't_** need right now are any more of Sandburg's cracks about military paranoia, thank you oh so very much.

Well, regardless of everything else , it's beginning to look like Daniel is going to get his wish after all, it's beginning to look like one way or another we are going to have no choice but to bring these two on board in **_some_** capacity. Unfortunately chances are that that is going to be easier said than done because I suspect that when it comes to paranoia Sandburg has us military types beaten hands down... and it is pretty obvious that he trusts the military about as much as I trust the NID.


	20. Chapter 20: Dark Pasts and Secret Wars

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 20: Dark Pasts and Secret Wars  
(Jim's POV)

Somehow I've got a bad feeling about all of this... there's something that still feels off about this whole situation and I can't quite put my finger on what it is, even though I have a fairly good idea of where to look. I know what's bothering me has something to do with the connection I've been sensing between Jackson and his companions from the moment I first laid eyes on them... a connection we never even considered while we were trying to figure things out last night, a connection we **_shouldn't_** have overlooked.

I told Sandburg yesterday that whatever it is that Major Carter is involved with it is certainly **_not_** theoretical but now as I watch the interaction between the three of them in light of Blair's less than subtle revelation I can't help but realize that we failed to consider what that could possibly mean... and that meaning is now growing increasingly apparent. The thing is that all of a sudden I am hit by the realization that we may well be about to get ourselves entangled with something that is far bigger than anything we could possibly have imagined.

Simply put, if the military has made contact with some alien civilization --and by now that's not much of an if, in fact Jackson has all but admitted that that's the case-- then maybe we should have considered what that could possibly entail because, after all, the clues were there for anyone to see from the very beginning.

I knew from the moment I first laid eyes on Jackson and company that they were a **_combat_** unit... and meeting and greeting aliens **_shouldn't_** have been enough to explain that by itself, not if those aliens were friendly. **_That_** was my mistake, the fact that I **_didn't_** realize that what these three are involved in is something that is probably far more dangerous than anything we have ever encountered before... and to make matters worse I also realize that now that Blair has revealed that we've figured out what they are up to, chances are that we've forfeited our best shot at being able to back away. They know I'm a sentinel, they know I'm something they can use and they no longer have to worry about revealing their secret to us because they already know we know, because they already know we are on to them. That means we are vulnerable and that is not a good position to be in.

Who would have thought that something as innocent as a letter from Naomi answering some of Blair's questions could possibly lead to such a mess? Well, maybe I should have, after all, we are talking **_Naomi_** here, when was the last time that one of her well meaning interferences in her son's life **_didn't_** end up turning into a major disaster? When was the last time one of her attempts to help Blair out in some fashion **_didn't_** snowball out of control? I've known my guide for over ten years now so it's got to be at least eleven as it is now pretty obvious that this one **_won't_** be the exception that breaks her winning streak in that regard.

The problem is that this whole situation is rapidly spinning out of control... and by that I don't just mean that it is spinning out of **_our_** control. I can see it in O'Neill's face, I can see that he is about as thrilled by this latest development as I am, not that I blame him. Jackson is merrily spilling the beans and the colonel is **_not_** happy about that... not to mention that Daniel seems to be as immune to his glare as Blair is to mine or even Simon's. I can see that O'Neill doesn't like the unknown, he doesn't like situations he can't control any more than I do and that is exactly what we have here: an unknown situation neither one of us can hope to control... and on top of that there's the fact that he is as protective of Daniel as I am of Blair. And **_that_** brings us back to my primary concern.

Unfortunately right now both Blair and Daniel seem to be intent on dragging us on a collision course and there's nothing any one of us can do about it... in fact they seem to be totally oblivious to the fact that they are walking straight into a minefield, one that can easily blow up in all our faces. I remember what Major Carter said yesterday about the potential for disaster of these two coming together and I admit that I did try to imagine all kinds of desperate scenarios we could possibly end up having to face, unfortunately this wasn't one of them. I was ready to tackle something like a terrorist takeover at a lab in which deadly pathogens are stored somewhere in downtown Cascade combined with an unexpected blizzard in July... now that is beginning to look like an optimistic scenario because what we have here is something that could easily end up dragging us straight into some sort of secret war and that's never a good thing. I've seen secret wars, that's why most of my missions are classified even after all these years, and somehow I suspect that what we've stumbled upon here would make those missions look like child's play.

I am a cop, I am the Sentinel of the Great City but now the question is, can I turn my back on an even greater threat if I am called to fight a brand new war? And if I don't turn my back on it, do I have the right to drag my guide into the fray? Of course, knowing Blair there would be no dragging involved, he would go there willingly but still...

Maybe I'm worrying too much. I know what I'm worrying about is something that hasn't even been mentioned and maybe will never be but somehow I don't think that will be the case. If I've learned anything from Blair in these past ten years it is that everything happens for a reason and I suspect that this is no exception. After all, what are the odds that Sandburg's long lost brother would turn out to be involved with this war in the first place?

I don't know where we are going, not any more. I like to be in control and yet right now I can feel that control slipping away from me. When I woke up yesterday I lived in a world that was very different from the one I am seeing now and somehow I don't think I'm meant to turn my back on what is to come... not that that's likely to be an option anyway.

* * *

**_Author's note (long and boring, feel free to skip this)_**: Hi guys, okay I've received a couple of comments in this past week concerning the fact that the story is a little too introspective at this point and seems to be moving at a snail's pace. Anyway, I'd like to explain **_why_** I decided to handle this scene as a series of POVs rather than writing the dialog outright. The reason is that there are too many characters on-screen who are actively involved and even though I had written the dialog the problem was that it came across as too confusing for the written page. Yes, it could have worked on an ep where we get to see the characters but without that visual aid trying to sort out who said what was a nightmare. Also, even though the character's thoughts are following similar paths they are also reacting to the dialog we aren't seeing and the different POVs don't really take place at the same time. So, sorry if this section seems to be a bit long, I'm doing my best to move things along... which is why I've pretty much had to sacrifice Sam, so that we have four rather than five POVs. I'm not happy about that but given that seeing how I'm focusing on the parallels between Blair and Daniel on the one hand and Jim and Jack on the other, Sam was kind of left hanging.

Anyway, for those of you who are still with me, thanks for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it,

Alec


	21. Chapter 21: Sleight of Hand and Twist of

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 21: Sleight of Hand and Twist of Fate  
(Blair's POV)

Okay, I don't know what just happened here but all of a sudden Jim is looking worried... and not just a little. The problem is that I can't ask him what's bothering him, not with Daniel, Jack and Sam here. Come to think of it, Jack isn't looking much happier than my sentinel right now, though at least **_that_** I can understand, in spite of the fact that I barely know the man.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that he wasn't quite expecting us to have figured out what it is that they do for a living and seeing how --if the security I encountered when I tried to check Daniel's background is anything to go by-- what they do is almost certainly highly classified, his uneasiness is far from surprising.

Of course, on top of that there's the fact that somehow I don't think Daniel is playing by the rules here. In fact I am fairly certain that he's already told us far more than he was supposed to.

The thing is that even though I can understand O'Neill's reaction I'm left struggling to try to figure out Jim's... and **_that_** bothers me. I'm supposed to know my sentinel better than that but the truth is that trying to figure out what Jim's problem is won't be easy. In fact if I want to figure it out at all I will probably have no choice but to accept a tradeoff... and I'm not quite sure I'm ready to do that just yet.

Simply put, in order to be able to ask Jim what's bothering him I would have to put an end, at least temporarily, to my current talk with Daniel and that may not be such a good idea under the circumstances. I am fully aware that by giving myself an opportunity to talk to Jim, to try to figure out what's going on, I would also be giving Colonel O'Neill and company a chance to regroup and shore up their own defenses and **_that_** is something I'd rather avoid. Of course, I could always try to have it both ways, but that could be tricky.

I know it would not be the most straight forward way of handling this and I'm afraid that could come back to haunt me at a later date but at the same time I also know it would be our best bet in terms of getting ourselves some answers... even if the means to do so wouldn't be the most ethical ones. The thing is that if we could have a chance to talk out of **_their_** earshot maybe that could solve my current problem concerning Jim and it could also provide us with some rather interesting additional answers because right now I can't help but feel that there's something Daniel is still hiding from me. I can't help but feel that I'm only getting half the story here and I've been a detective for too many years now to be able to settle for anything less than the whole truth.

Sure, so far my brother's been pretty open with me. He's told me about the stargate, of how he helped cracked the code to get it working a few years ago after a rather **_unfortunate_** experience with his 'colleagues'. He's told me about his first trip to Abydos and of how he stayed there. He's told me about his wife, Sha're, and how he found himself unexpectedly married to her without even being aware of it at the time but he hasn't told me why he came back. I suspect it had something to do with Sha're's death but I'm not certain about that and that is just the first of too many unanswered questions.

The point is that I am very aware of the things Daniel hasn't told me. Even though he's told me of the events that led to his involvement with the stargate in the first place, he hasn't told me what he's doing now, just as he hasn't told me what the roles of Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter are in this whole thing... and somehow I don't think those omissions are merely due to a slight oversight.

The way I see it, maybe if I could get Jim alone for a few minutes I could kill two birds with one stone here. Not only would that provide me with a much needed opportunity to talk to Jim and to find out what's bothering him but with a little luck it would also provide us with some information concerning those things Daniel and company are still keeping from us.

Jack is itching for a chance to talk to Daniel alone, I can see that and **_that_** could turn out to be a golden opportunity for us to try to figure out what's going on here. Sure, they know that Jim is a sentinel and they may try to be careful but that probably won't be enough to help them, not really. They may **_know_** that Jim is a sentinel but chances are they still don't fully **_understand_** just what that means. They have no experience in dealing with what they are facing here and chances are that they don't really know what a sentinel can do when he pushes himself... and **_that_** is something we can definitely use to our advantage.

I know doing that wouldn't be the most ethical use of Jim's abilities but what can I say, having a sentinel for a partner has some undeniable advantages under the current circumstances and, after all, we can't possibly be held accountable for their mistakes and their miscalculations.

One way or another I know that I need to figure out what's bugging Jim and what Daniel is hiding from us because I know my partner is not prone to overreacting... for the most part. He may get a bit overprotective at times, that is true, but that is an entirely different story .


	22. Chapter 22: The Lesser Evil

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 22: The Lesser Evil  
(Jim's POV)

"Okay, big guy, what's bothering you?" asks Sandburg as soon as we are alone in the truck. I was caught somewhat off guard when he broke his talk with Daniel off to suggest that we should get something to eat but I guess he wanted an excuse for us to talk... well at least he got outvoted four to one so now we are heading for a steak house rather than a vegetarian restaurant.

"I think we may be in way over our heads here," I say, knowing that we have a ten minute drive at most. The colonel and company are basically following us but I know I can't afford to take too much of a scenic route here, not without rousing some suspicions.

"What do you mean?" asks Sandburg, looking rather worried.

"Well, I just realized something... remember how last night we were talking about the fact that Daniel and company most definitely don't work on anything having to do with deep space telemetry?"

"Yes, and Daniel's already explained that to us, even though I have to admit that I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the concept of a stargate," he says, shaking his head.

"That's the thing, we got so excited with the realization of what it is that they really do for a living that we forgot the other half of the story."

"What other half?" he asks.

"The one having to do with how the three of them are part of a **_combat_** unit. Why would meeting and greeting aliens require a **_combat_** unit in the first place?"

"Oops. We never really thought about that, did we?"

"No, but the way I see it there's only one possible explanation for that..."

"And that is that those aliens aren't necessarily friendly, right?" he finishes for me.

"Exactly. And seeing how the colonel and the others work for a secret military project, one that may not have the level of accountability more visible ones have, we could easily end up finding ourselves dragged into it, whether we want to or not."

"Uh?"

"Sorry," I say, realizing that Blair is **_not_** military and will probably need more of an explanation than that. "It's just that if there's a secret war going on the people fighting it don't necessarily have to worry about such trifles as public opinion and that means that they can afford to conduct themselves in a less than ethical fashion because the level of oversight in that regard is likely to be minimal. Projects that operate on a need to know basis all too often also operate above the law and they may end up basically policing themselves and if things are bad and they really need whatever edge they can get..."

"Then that would make them particularly dangerous and it would also render us unusually vulnerable because they could literally make us disappear without a trace, right?" he asks, sounding rather worried.

"You've got it... and to make matters worse they already know we know what they are involved with. That means that they can come after us without having to worry about the possibility of tipping their own hand, so we've already lost one of our main tactical advantages here."

"That's not good... but Daniel wouldn't do that... or at least I don't think he would," he says, even though he doesn't sound particularly convinced.

"I don't know, chief. It may not be that simple... and in the end it probably won't be up to him. It's true that your brother sounds like a decent enough guy and the same goes for Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter but as soon as they go home they are going to have to report what happened here to whoever it is that they answer to and that is the unknown we can't really afford."

"So what do we do?" he asks.

"I don't know, I really don't know. If we had thought about this last night I would have said that we should be very careful in how we approach them but I'm afraid it's already too late for that."

"And what about trying to learn more about what they are up to in the first place? I mean, I couldn't help but notice that Daniel wasn't exactly telling us everything."

"That could help us get at least a better idea as to just what it is that we've walked into and where we stand. The problem is that they are good, very good... especially O'Neill."

"How good are we talking here?"

"When Daniel was telling you about what he is involved with I was tracking the colonel's vitals, I explain. I could tell that he was on edge and clearly unhappy with the whole situation but there were virtually no outward signs of distress. The thing is that somehow I don't think they are going to slip and your brother may have been willing to tell you about his own experiences but he was also obviously determined to keep the role of the military well out of it."

"So, you noticed that too, uh? But what about listening in on them?" asks Blair.

"They already know I'm a sentinel," I remind him.

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are aware of what a sentinel can do. In fact I'm kind of counting on them to underestimate you here," he points out with a smile.

"It's worth a shot I guess. After all, it's not like we have anything to lose, not any more."

"So, any ideas as to what the possible scenarios are here?"

"The way I see it there are four ways in which this whole thing could possibly play out. The best case scenario would be for them to go their way while we go on with our lives without them trying to drag us into whatever it is that they do. A second option would be if they were to ask us to join them while being willing to take 'no' for an answer. The third option, and this is where things start to get ugly, is that we could basically find ourselves being forced to join them, whether we want to or not. Worst case scenario is someone coming after me trying to figure out what makes me tick and if there's anything they can do to duplicate it," I say.

"Okay, so how do you propose we handle this?"

"I guess it would depend on how it plays out, though we really have to be on our toes here. Case one, we wouldn't really have anything to handle. Case two, we listen to what they have to say and decide where do we go from there. Cases three and four we go under... and oddly enough I suspect case two may turn out to be a better option than case one in the long run."

"How come?" he asks.

"Because it's the only one that would enable us to walk away knowing where we stand... case one would basically leave us looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives, fearing that they would come after us eventually."

"Yes, well, it's not like case two offers much of a guarantee if they decide that they don't like our original answer, is it? I mean, if we say 'no' what's to keep them from turning to options three or four anyway? In fact that would basically rule out option three and push us straight into option four territory," Blair points out.

"And that's exactly why I say that we hear them out in option two. It's not so much because I'm eager to join them but because it may give us a chance to join them on our terms."

"So you are saying that if they ask us to join them, we should?" he asks, and I'm not particularly surprised by the fact that he sounds anything but thrilled at the thought.

"No, I'm saying that we may want to listen to what they have to say because it may be the safest option in the long run, because it may well turn out to be the lesser evil. Besides, depending on what it is that they are fighting, there's a chance that joining them could actually turn out to be the right thing to do," I explain, even though I'm **_not_** really all that convinced about that.

"In other words, we wait and see?"

"It's not like we have much of a choice here, at least for the time being... though maybe we should try to get ourselves some answers before we find ourselves in it any deeper than we already are, so we should probably make that wait, see and **_listen_**," I correct.

"Do you think it may already be too late to be worrying about that?" asks Blair.

"I don't know, chief... maybe, but I don't think we have anything to worry about, at least not right away. Whatever the fallout from this thing ends up being I can pretty much promise you that it won't become apparent until **_after_** Daniel and company have gone back to Colorado so you may as well enjoy your time with your brother here," I say, knowing how much Blair wanted this.


	23. Chapter 23: Digging Our Way Out of a Hol

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 23: Digging Our Way Out of a Hole  
(Jack's POV)

"What on earth were you thinking, Daniel? I mean, do the words 'confidential' and classified' sound familiar? You are the one who's supposed to speak more than thirty languages so I'm sure you must have heard them **_somewhere_**!" I all but yell at him as soon as I close the door.

"I was kind of thinking that it was way too late for us to be worrying about whether or not things were classified in the first place. In case you haven't noticed, Blair had already figured out most of the truth and the way I saw it, lying to him would only have made matters worse so I was trying to do some damage control... besides, I didn't tell him anything about the SGC."

"You didn't..."

"No, I didn't, he cuts me out. I told him about Abydos and about Sha're but I never mentioned General Hammond or the Goa'uld or the Asgard or anything else concerning what we are doing now... heck, I didn't even mention Teal'c's name. All I did was tell my brother about my life so chill."

"Chill? Is that the best you can do?" I ask, not quite believing my ears.

"Well, what was I supposed to do? It wasn't like I could deny what they were saying, was it?"

"No, but you should have thought of something," I insist.

"And why didn't **_you_** say something yourself? You were there and I didn't exactly see you jumping in with a different explanation," he challenges me.

"Well, no but..."

"So what was I supposed to do?" he pushes.

"I don't know, okay? All I know is that we have to figure a way out of this mess and we need to do it before we reach that steak house," I say.

"Okay, fine, so we have to be careful not to tell them more than they already know."

"And how do you propose we do that?" I ask.

"How should I know?" he snaps back at me.

"How about you keep your answers brief and to the point? You think you could do that?"

"Don't look at me, it wasn't my fault that Blair figured it out in the first place!

"Well, you were the one who was being oh so helpful!" I remind him.

"Maybe, but somehow I think that keeping quiet would have raised a lot more questions than giving a partial explanation, you know? Simply put, if they think they know the whole truth maybe they'll be less likely to go looking for any additional answers."

"Is that so? And this has nothing to do with what you were telling me last night about wanting to recruit Sandburg and Ellison? It has nothing to do with the fact that you want your little brother working with us at the SGC?" I ask, remembering our little chat from last night.

"No, it doesn't. I mean, sure, I won't deny that I think having someone with Blair's credentials and a full blown sentinel working with us would be great but that's not why I told them, I know that decision is not up to me no matter what. I told them because they already knew something was up. Besides, do you really think I want my brother in the front lines against the Goa'uld?"

"So you didn't..."

"Sir, are you sure this is the time and place to be having this conversation?" interrupts Sam, looking rather nervous.

"What do you mean, Carter?"

"Well, sir, I'm kind of worried about the fact that Jim may actually be listening in on us. Daniel was careful not to mention either our enemies or our allies by name before and he was careful to try to keep their attention away from certain issues but right now we may be drawing their attention to precisely what we were trying to keep from them in the first place and that may not be such a good idea. Besides, the names of those enemies and allies have already entered this conversation, as has the fact that what he told his brother was not the whole truth and that may be a problem," she points out.

"Come on, Carter, the man may be a sentinel but we are driving through downtown Cascade in separate cars, there's construction work, radios, conversations and engines all around us so get real. Ellison may have a great pair of ears but there's no way he can hear what we are saying. It's one thing for him to be listening in on what's going on in a different room in the same floor of the same building and quite another for him to be able to hear us now," I tell her. I mean, it's okay to be somewhat paranoid but there's no way they can be listening in on us, not here.

"I hate to say it, Sam, but I'm with Jack on this one," says Daniel.

"Did either one of you bother to read Sandburg's dissertation before coming here?" asks Carter, sounding rather frustrated.

"I tried but the thing was even more convoluted than one of **_your_** reports about missions to technologically advanced worlds," I say.

"I didn't really have the time... after all, it wasn't like we planned this trip and there were a couple of translations that..." says Daniel.

"Well, may be you should have! There were plenty of examples in it of just how good Jim's hearing really is and I'm pretty sure that he **_can_** hear us, even if it sounds impossible from our perspective," she snaps.

"But you are not sure?" I ask.

"Well, that is one of the major problems with acoustics in general, sir. You see, there are two key elements required to measure sound: pitch, which is absolute --and in that regard I can tell you that Ellison's range is well beyond the 20Hz-20kHz that is considered normal for humans-- and intensity, which is far more subjective. The thing is that on top of the fact that how we perceive the intensity of sound is a rather subjective thing, the scale we use to measure that intensity does not easily lend itself to dealing with sounds below the human range because the scale itself defines the threshold of human hearing, which is an SPL of 20 micropascals as 0 dB and..."

"In English, Carter," I say, letting out a frustrated sigh. I really should know better by now than to ask her for an explanation about anything.

"Basically, sir, even though decibels have been standardized into an equation, the fact that sound is measured in decibels and that 0 dB is the threshold of human hearing means that working with sounds that are below that threshold is counterintuitive because you are dealing with positive figures in negative numbers and that can get somewhat confusing."

"More confusing than your explanation, you mean?" I ask, knowing that I'm going to regret that comment.

"Think of it as the weather, sir," she explains and I can see that she is really **_trying_** to dumb herself down but somehow I don't think it's going to be enough. "When it gets too cold we speak of subzero temperatures. In that case we are using a negative number to reflect a reality we can't deny. It is a situation where the use of a negative figure is artificial and that is why kelvins are used when it comes to scientific work. The difference is that while we can **_feel_** subzero temperatures we can't **_hear_** subzero sounds... and measuring them outside of a lab environment is all but impossible because we live in a noisy world. 0 dB simply doesn't occur in nature. There's always the wind or some insect or even our own breathing and heartbeat. The thing is that even though we can't really hear it a sound of less than 0 dB is still a real, positive sound. The fact that we can't hear it doesn't mean it doesn't exist and that's where things get tricky, especially when it comes to Blair's dissertation and Jim's senses. To make matters worse there's the fact that Sandburg is not a physicist and that has definitely made his dissertation somewhat confusing in that area... not to mention that even though he tried to be thorough in his research and his testing of Jim's abilities, most of his tests were conducted under less than ideal circumstances. Most of the tests he used to document Jim's senses were based on his empirical observations and were conducted without the aid of any scientific equipment. When dealing with sounds Sandburg couldn't possibly perceive or measure in a rather noisy environment, that becomes particularly significant. Still based on what he did observe I'd say that chances are that Jim can hear us."

"And couldn't you just have said that in the first place?" I ask. I knew that if I allowed her to go on for long enough Carter would eventually reach something remotely resembling the point... even if it took her half an hour to get there.

"I did, sir. I told you I wasn't sure and then you asked me **_why_** I wasn't sure," she reminds me.

"Never mind," I say. Okay, so maybe it was my fault but still, she should know better than to go technical on me by now.

"The point is, sir, that if Ellison can hear us, mentioning the things we were trying to avoid before may not be the best idea. In that regard I think we should probably play it safe and assume that he **_can_** hear us," she insists.

"Yeah, but we only have a few minutes and we really need to figure out how to handle this once we reach that steak house, so, what do you suggest?" I ask.

"I think we should handle it carefully, gather as much information as we can get, watch our tongues... and then let General Hammond worry about this one, after all, in the end what comes out of this whole thing is going to be his decision anyway. The only problem is that if they've been listening in on us up until now, then chances are that they have already come to the wrong conclusion about our intentions here," says Carter and I can't help but groan as I go over our conversation in my mind.

If they have been listening in on us we are basically screwed.


	24. Chapter 24: Between the Lines

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 24: Between the Lines  
(Blair's POV)

"Damn!" mutters Jim and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he is **_not_** happy about something.

"What's wrong, big guy?" I ask.

"Major Carter. She read your diss and knows I'm listening in," he says, which is enough to get me to add **_my_** name to the 'not happy' category.

"So I'm guessing that's it for our attempts to keep an ear on them, a least without them being aware of it, uh?"

"Yes."

"So, what do we know?"

"I'm not sure," says Jim, sounding rather frustrated. "You were right in that they were keeping some things from us, and just as I feared they **_are_** involved in something big, big enough to include both enemies and allies who should not be named... and Jackson is worried about you being in the front lines against something called 'the Goa'uld', whatever that is."

"So the recruiting option is starting to sound more and more likely?" I ask. I knew that was the most likely scenario but still, having it confirmed is not exactly a pleasant experience.

"I'm afraid so, chief. It seems that our fate rests in the hands of a certain 'General Hammond'."

"General? That's **_so_** not good."

"No, it's not... and, from what I heard, even last night Jackson was already planning on recruiting us."

"Daniel?" I ask. Now **_that_** is a surprise, I would have expected that suggestion to have come from Jack but not from my brother.

"Yes."

"That's weird, I would have thought that the military would be our biggest concern in that regard, not their resident archeologist."

"I know, there's something very strange going on here but they are not going to say anything else, not now," says Jim and I can see he is getting worried, not that I blame him. This is **_not_** going the way we planned it and that is **_not_** a good thing.

"So how do we play this?" I ask.

"I'm really not sure, chief. I mean, do we confront them with what we heard or do we wait and see?"

"You are the one who knows how the military operates, big guy, so I'll follow your lead on this one," I say.

"The problem is that military or not I'm afraid that the way in which they have been behaving is **_not_** consistent with what I would have expected. Daniel's role in this whole thing is a mystery and I suspect that it is a critical one, one that can throw my predictions **_way_** off," explains Jim before going on. "Under normal circumstances the CO orders and the rest of the team follows, that's the way it's supposed to be, but here I think it's not unusual for Colonel O'Neill to follow Major Carter's lead, at least in some areas... and the same goes for your brother."

"Well, maybe it has to do with what we were saying yesterday about the fact that they have a very specific set of skills so if it's science related then it wouldn't make much sense for Jack to ask Sam to follow his lead and he knows it," I point out. "Besides, if the stargate travels to countless different worlds it is also easy to see how Daniel would have a critical role to play. After all, he did say that the civilization on Abydos was reminiscent of Ancient Egypt so I can see where an archeologist would come in handy."

"Yes, but the thing is that, regardless of what's caused it, the way in which they interact is so far from the norm in terms of the military that my expectations may be less accurate than they should be. They are just not behaving like a regular command. Let's face it, a military command doesn't usually include an archeologist in a critical position, not even when they could really use one. Even when I was assigned to Peru, when we knew we were likely to come across some native cultures we were totally in the dark about them. We really had no idea as to what that meant or what we could expect from any of them and there were certainly no anthropologists assigned to **_our_** units. You have no idea of what a shock my first encounter with the Chopec was. I was terrified... and that is one of the things that tell me that the way in which O'Neill and company operate is very far from the norm."

"Well, I guess that makes sense, seeing the kinds of things they deal with," I say as I fight back the temptation to ask Jim about that initial reaction to the Chopec. He had never mentioned it before and I had never really considered it but I guess it makes sense... unfortunately right now I can't afford to get distracted and that means I'm going to have no choice but to let that subject go, at least for the time being.

"Yes, but the thing is that the presence of an archeologist in their team basically neutralizes most of what I know about how the military is supposed to operate, so I'm in the dark," Jim reminds me, bringing me back to the here and now.

"Okay, so, any other things they mentioned before Sam interrupted them that could be useful?" I ask before going on, there's got to be something here, something we can use, after all we are detectives so maybe we should approach this whole scene as we would any other investigation.

"I'm not sure. They mentioned a few things like 'the Asgard', 'the Goa'uld', 'General Hammond' and 'Teal'c'."

"And going by what you said before I think it's safe to say that 'the Goa'uld', whoever they happen to be, are not exactly nice guys," I say, welcoming the additional information. A list of names may not sound like much but at least it is **_something_**. It is something we can work with, something that, with a little common sense, we can figure out.

"No," Jim agrees, "and then this 'General Hammond' sounds like he is probably their CO, seeing how they said that deciding what to do about us will be up to him."

"Okay, that's better, though we still have two names we know nothing about: the Asgard', who I suspect may be connected somehow with Norse mythology and Teal'c'... and I have no idea as to who or what that could possibly be."

"They also mentioned some allies and that their names had already entered the conversation," says Jim and I can barely keep myself from glaring at him. I know it's irrational but couldn't he have said that sooner?

"So that would mean that either the Asgard or Teal'c are their friends... and also that chances are that the Asgard are a group whereas Teal'c is probably an individual," I point out.

"Yes, in fact I suspect that Teal'c is the one they have most contact with."

"How come?"

"Because Daniel said that he hadn't **_even_** mentioned Teal'c's name," he explains.

"So, someone close... maybe the mysterious fourth member of their team? After all he is the one who's missing from this picture."

"Could be but I'm not sure, so we should label that as a maybe'."

"Fair enough, though if we assume that Teal'c is an individual --and, given his rather _unusual_ name, I think we can also label him as a possible alien-- then that means we can pretty much put the Asgard in the allies category. After all they did say allies in plural, right?" I ask.

"Yes," he confirms.

"Okay, so now we are getting somewhere."

"Yes, the only problem is that that doesn't get us any closer to getting us **_out_** of where we are getting to," Jim points out and this time around I **_do_** glare at him.

I really didn't need to have him reminding me of that fact.


	25. Chapter 25: How to Defuse a Ticking Huma

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 25: How to Defuse a Ticking Human Time Bomb  
(Daniel's POV)

To say that the atmosphere as we choke down our steaks is tense would be an understatement. It's like we are all waiting for everybody else to make the first move so we are all basically stuck. In fact the situation is even worse than it was when we first got together earlier today. Back then we were trying to make our way across the other's defenses... this time around we are all just too busy digging our own trenches to do even that much. The thing is that this is our only full day here in Cascade and I don't want to waste it, the problem is that it is obvious that Jack has other priorities in mind, and I do understand.

For him the most important thing is to figure out how to do some damage control here, but I just want a chance to get to know my brother and I'm not going to be able to do that while Jack and Jim are both trying to glare the other into submission. One thing that has become apparent, however, is that Sam was right and that Jim was actually keeping an ear on us on the way over... that is by far the most logical explanation for his attitude change from a few minutes ago.

I wonder what Blair would say if I were to suggest that we ditch **_both_** our escorts. Of course I know how the idea would go over with Jack but I am at my wits' end... and going by the look on Blair's face I'd say I'm not the only one who is more than a little fed up with all the posturing. In fact I suspect that by now even **_Sam_** is fighting to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the two of them. Gathering my courage I ask:

"So, Blair, what would you say if we were to get away for a while and actually talk."

"Hey, I'm all for it, man," he says, sounding rather relieved.

"So where are we going?" asks Jack.

"**_You_** are not going anywhere, Jack. I said **_Blair_**," I point out, knowing that I'm going to have a fight in my hands.

"One word, Danny-boy, 'no', I'm not letting you out of my sight. No way, no how," he tells me, crossing his arms and almost **_daring_** me to try and change his mind.

"Yes, you are," I say.

"No, I'm not," he insists.

"Are."

"Not."

"You are not going anywhere, chief," jumps in Jim... why am I not surprised?

"Come on, Jim, he is my brother and he's only here for today. He's going back to Colorado Springs tomorrow morning," says Blair, going for a pleading look... I wonder if that would work on Jack.

"You are still not going anywhere, not without me," he growls... literally growls.

"If Ellison is going so am I," says Jack, who had been on the brink of agreeing to let me out of his sight. I wonder what it would take for these two to figure out that both Blair and I are adults and perfectly capable of making our own decisions.

"Why don't I go with them, sir?" suggests Sam, trying to mediate.

"That could work," says Jack, rather reluctantly, but I can see that Jim is still far from convinced.

"Listen, big guy, Daniel and I just want to talk, that's all, but I'll tell you what: seeing how they already know the truth maybe you and Jack could follow us at a distance. That way you can keep an ear on us," says Blair.

"You promise not to try to ditch me?" asks Ellison, looking rather suspicious.

"Scout's honor, big guy."

"Why am I not relieved to hear that? Oh, wait, I know... maybe because you were never a boy scout to begin with," Jim points out.

"Maybe not, but still, you know I wouldn't do that to you," insists Blair.

"For the record, I still don't like this," says Ellison.

"I know, big guy, but I really have to do this."

"Okay," Jim agrees after a few seconds.

"Thank you," says Blair, sounding rather relieved.

"So, what's the plan?" asks Jack.

"Plan?" asks Blair, staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Yes, you know, where are you going, at what time do we meet again and where? That kind of a plan," Jack explains.

"I don't know. To tell you the truth I didn't realize we were going to need one, after all this is **_not_** a military exercise," Blair points out before realizing that that explanation just isn't going to cut it with this lot. "I guess maybe we could go to the park. It's fairly quiet and open enough for Jim to keep an ear and an eye on us... as for when do we meet again, seeing how you are going to be tailing us anyway, it doesn't really matter."

"You call that a plan?" asks Jack, shaking his head.

"No, I call it spending the day getting to know my brother while I pray that the two of you won't kill each other," mutters Blair, who I'm glad to see is **_not_** intimidated by Jack's death-glare... of course, I assume he has had more than his fair share of practice when it comes to dealing with Ellison's own version of it.

"We are going to be fine, Jack," I say, trying to reassure him, even though I know it will almost certainly be futile.

"Yes, but..." he insists.

"That's why I'm going with them, sir," Sam reminds him.

"But what if...?" he tries again.

"Jack, just go with Jim," I say as I turn to follow my brother out of the restaurant.


	26. Chapter 26: MMHFHU

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 26: MMHFHU  
(Blair's POV)

Okay, we managed to get away, though we do have a military tag-along with us, still, going by Daniel's reaction --and by what I've seen of her so far-- that may not be that bad. In fact I suspect Major Carter's presence here with us is a trade-off similar to the one I made when I asked Jim to follow us. The thing is that now we have a couple of hours without (too many) secrets standing in our way and without Jim and Jack driving us nuts. The truth is that back at the restaurant I wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh at their reactions.

"So, Jack's a card-carrying member of the MMHFHU too?"

"MMHFHU?" asks Daniel, sounding rather confused.

"Yes, you know, the Military Mother Hens From Hell Union," I explain.

"Oh, that one. Yes, in fact I suspect he's acting president," he says.

"Can't be, that's Jim," I point out.

"Nope, Jim's retired," he argues.

"Of course he's retired. He retired so that he could dedicate his full time to the union," I explain.

"They are quite a pair, aren't they?" asks Daniel shaking his head.

"Yups, I just hope that they won't kill each other 'cos I've got to say that as of a couple of minutes ago the trust just **_wasn't_** there."

"So, you noticed that too, uh?

"Kind of hard to miss, though I know they mean well."

"Yes, but it gets annoying after a while, you know? I mean, I've been basically taking care of myself since I was eight! I don't need a babysitter!" exclaims Daniel.

"Neither do I, man, but that's not the way they see it and sometimes you just have to go with the flow if you want to survive."

"I know, and I do... for the most part, but today we couldn't quite afford it," Daniel points out.

"I agree."

"So, now what?"

"Now we lose the secrets," I say, knowing it's not going to be quite that simple.

"Daniel, you can't," warns the major, looking rather worried.

"Don't worry, Sam, I know what not to say and I'm pretty sure Blair knows what not to ask. You know how at times a partial disclosure can be worse than a full disclosure... besides this is a two way street. We are **_both_** going to lose the secrets here... and I know you are curious," says Daniel, obviously knowing which buttons to push.

"Yes, but..."

"It's going to be fine, trust me, he interrupts her. So, Blair, why don't you tell me what you know, and then we'll go from there?"

I hesitate for a moment. Even though I knew this was precisely the reason **_why_** we were ditching both Jim and Jack that doesn't mean this is going to be easy. I know we are about to cross the point of no return here and the truth is that in spite of the fact that I'm dying to do this --in spite of the fact that I really want my brother in my life and in spite of the fact that I'm looking forward to being a part of his-- I am still all too aware that what I'm going to do now is something I've been desperately trying to avoid for most of the past decade. Even though I understand that this particular set of circumstances is one I've never really contemplated before, the fact remains that I am about to willingly reveal my sentinel's secrets to someone connected to the military and that brings forth some of my deepest fears.

No matter how hard I try, I just can't keep the memories of Brackett from running through my mind, I can't stop myself from thinking about the press conference and the reasons **_why_** I denounced my own work. They were valid reasons back then and they are still valid today but at the same time I realize that I don't have a choice here, not really. They already know I lied in that press conference and Major Carter has already read my dissertation. That means that my choices are extremely limited and that is not a good thing.

I try to tell myself that chances are both Daniel and Sam are used to dealing with --an accepting-- things that are far stranger than a sentinel living in Cascade, working as a detective, but not even that thought is enough to allay my fears. This is the moment of truth. Knowing that, I swallow hard and say:

"I know what you told us in that restaurant and I also know you are fighting something called the Goa'uld. I know your CO is a General Hammond, I know you have some allies known as the Asgard and I am fairly certain that the fourth member of your team is an alien named Teal'c."

"That's a lot more than you were supposed to know," says Sam, throwing a worried look Daniel's way... and somehow I suspect all hell is about to break loose here.


	27. Chapter 27: NMMHFHU

**_For disclamers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 27: NMMHFHU  
(Daniel's POV)

"That's a lot more than you were supposed to know," says Sam, throwing a worried look my way and I can't help but agree with her. Even if they were listening in on us while we were heading toward that restaurant, there are a couple of things in Blair's statement that must have come from elsewhere.

"Okay, so half of what I just said was guesswork, but seeing how you just confirmed it for me, I don't think there's much point in you trying to deny it now," Blair points out.

"You bluffed it out of me?" exclaims Sam, who seems torn between being offended and amused.

"Sorry," he says, sounding far from sincere. Somehow I get the feeling that, whether we end up recruiting these two or not, I'm going to have my hands full with my little brother... and with each and every passing moment I become more and more convinced that actually recruiting Blair into the SGC would be a major coup. The guy's got the training as an anthropologist combined with his experience as a detective and a natural ability to read both the situation and the people around him. That is not a common combination and the possibility of adding a sentinel to the mix only sweetens the deal... though somehow I don't think Blair would appreciate hearing those thoughts.

"Okay so, that takes care of things," I say, hoping to move things along.

"Not exactly, you haven't told me what you know about Jim," he reminds me and I realize that somehow he's managed to get me right where he wanted me. He's managed to guess a number of things and then he bluffed a confirmation out of Sam but somehow I don't think we are going to be so lucky here. Simply put, trying to bluff **_him_** is not likely to get us very far. We are going to have to tell him what we know and then the only way in which we will get any additional information is if he feels like sharing... and, if what I've seen of how protective of his sentinel he can be is anything to go by, then the chances that he will be willing to share are slim to none. He may claim that Jim is the acting president of the MMHFHU (though I still maintain that that honor belongs to Jack), but the truth is that he is not fooling me. Blair and Jim protect each other and there's no arguing as to who is the president of the NMMHFHU. Of course, in a way it is only natural. That is one difference between us, a difference between Jim and Jack. When Jack gets overprotective he has the whole SGC to fall back on, Jim and Blair are on their own and they know it. Still, if I want things to move along here then I'm going to have no choice but to figure out a way to make it past his defenses.

I'm still considering that situation when Sam jumps in.

"We know he is a sentinel and I've read your dissertation," she says before going on. "We also know that he was listening in on us earlier today and that has given us a reference in terms of what he can do, at least when it comes to his sense of hearing. If that is anything to go by in terms of his others senses, well, let's just say that the possibilities are fascinating."

"He is not a lab rat," growls Blair, making it abundantly clear that that is **_not_** up for debate and that pushing the issue would be the fastest way to get him to clam up. I can see he is still afraid, still unsure as to whether or not he can trust us. I think he wants to, but he is also having a hard time seeing past Sam's rank... not that I blame him.

"I know, but the fact is that he is at risk," she points out, refusing to back down. "Believe me, with what we deal with we've come across some groups that would not hesitate to do whatever it takes to ensure Jim's **_services_**."

"And how can we know you are not involved with any of them?" he challenges her.

"You can't, not really," she admits, "but we are probably your best bet when it comes to keeping him safe."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"We can keep him safe --we can keep you **_both_** safe-- if you trust us."

"And how is **_you_** trying to blackmail me any different from **_them_** doing whatever it takes to ensure his services?"

"It is different because we are giving you a real choice here... and I would hardly call that blackmail," says Sam.

"Some choice," he mutters.

"Listen, Blair, you don't have to decide anything right now, in fact Sam shouldn't even have said that much, not without talking it with our base's CO first, but she does have a point," I say, trying to defuse the situation. "Believe me, we have an **_alien_** on our team. If we can keep him safe, we can keep Jim safe. The problem is that right now we **_can't_** be entirely sure that the people in those groups **_haven't_** followed us to Cascade... and if they have this could easily turn into a race against the clock so please hear us out."

* * *

_**Author's note**_: In case anyone is wondering NMMHFHU stands for 'Non-military Mother Hens From Hell Union'. 


	28. Chapter 28: Carrots on a Stick

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 28: Carrots on a Stick  
(Blair's POV)

Okay, I guess the first question is how much of what Daniel just told me is a bluff and how much of it is real. Is there a real possibility that someone's followed them to Cascade? I know that if there were someone tailing us Jim would have said something about it but on the other hand, even if no one followed them this time around, the fact that they are here is bound to end up in someone's report sooner rather than later and that is **_not_** a good thing. That means that the danger is real, it means that even though I denounced my dissertation, their visit is still likely to raise some red flags and that is not a risk we can afford to take... the problem is that the 'protection' we are being offered --or sort of offered-- comes with some rather nasty strings attached. If we take them up on their offer we run the risk of jumping out of the frying pan and straight into the fire.

I know this is exactly the kind of scenario Jim was worried about, this is why he said option number two could well turn out to be our best bet and now I understand what he meant by that. I really should have more faith in him when it comes to reading a situation involving the military.

The good news is that at least I know where we stand and I have an idea as to how Jim would want me to handle this situation... not that there's any need for me to tell them that.

"I'm listening," I say and watch them exchange a rather troubled glance. It's good to know I'm not the only one who is feeling more than a little out of his element here.

"As you said, we are fighting a war against a race of aliens who call themselves the Goa'uld. They are parasites who like to pretend they are gods and have the ability to infect humans, to take us as hosts," says Sam, looking rather green, not that my brother is doing much better in that regard.

"Hosts?"

"Yes, my wife, Sha're was taken, explains Daniel. I won't lie to you, it's not a pretty galaxy out there but we can't afford to bury our heads in the sand... that would be deadly."

"And what about Teal'c?" I ask.

"It's complicated."

"Define complicated," I push, not willing to back down.

I see Daniel turn toward Sam and after a moment's hesitation she nods, ever so slightly.

"He is a Jaffa. He carries an infant Goa'uld but is not controlled by it. A Goa'uld larva can't really take a host before it matures," he explains.

"But I assume that it is still growing, right?"

"Yes," he admits.

"So, how long is the 'incubation period' and what will happen once that baby is ready to leave the nest?" I ask.

"The incubation period lasts several years. Teal'c's primta was implanted before it was ready... long story... but the thing is that that has bought us a little extra time. He still has a couple of years to go before it becomes an issue," explains Daniel.

"And the Asgard? Any connection to Norse mythology?"

"They are basically the basis for it... of course you wouldn't know it by looking at them. In fact the definition of Roswell grays' is far more fitting. They are a technologically advanced society, though at times they are **_far_** less helpful than they could be."

"So there's intelligent life in quite a few planets out there," I say, still having a hard time trying to accept that any of this is real.

"Yes, though oddly enough there are humans in quite a few of those planets as well... and that's another reason why we'd like you to join us," says Daniel.

"Humans?" I ask, caught totally off-guard. That is something I definitely **_wasn't_** expecting.

"Yes. The Goa'uld came to earth thousands of years ago. There was a rebellion back then and they left but before that happened they took a lot of people and scattered them throughout the galaxy to use as slaves, hosts or to turn into Jaffa," he explains.

"Are you saying that Jaffa are actually human!" I exclaim.

"Basically. They are modified humans. Their immune systems are destroyed to prevent rejection so they rely on the infant Goa'uld they carry to survive, which is the reason why we can't get rid of Teal'c's larva in the first place," says Sam.

"Can I say 'ouch'?" I mutter.

"You can, says Daniel with a smile. The thing is that since a good number of those societies we've encountered out there are the descendants of those humans that were taken from our world by the Goa'uld thousands of years ago, it is not uncommon for their cultures to be reminiscent of the ancient civilizations they descend from."

"Wait, are you saying that there are clear parallels?" I ask, trying to imagine the implications of what my brother is saying from an anthropological perspective.

"It's more than that, it's like they were able to evolve with few, if any, external influences and totally isolated from each other. Most planets are populated by the descendants of a single group and their civilizations have evolved independent from one another. That has served to minimize the divergence from their original sources due to the absence of external influences and in some cases it has even enabled us to find things we couldn't possibly have imagined," he says.

"Such as?" I ask, feeling more than a little curious.

"Can you imagine what kind of a society the Vikings could have built **_without_** the influence of Christianity... well, we've actually been there, he explains.

"But I imagine that the absence of Christianity must have left its mark as well, right? I mean, it's true that our perspective of the Vikings has been tainted by a Christian bias but if they were raiders then the absence of settlements **_to_** raid must have had a significant impact," I say.

"Of course, as did the fact that they were sailors and that the settlement we encountered was nowhere near the shore, or the fact that the weather on their planet was far more forgiving than the one of their native regions here on earth, but the point is that as an anthropologist those changes themselves are extremely interesting," Daniel points out.

"But you are not just telling me this because it's interesting, are you?" I ask, wondering what he's **_not_** telling me.

"No, the truth is that one of the things we desperately need are contact specialists. I mean, we've managed to recruit a couple of them but there aren't that many anthropologists affiliated with the military to begin with and we can't exactly put an ad out in the local newspaper so that has made things rather difficult in that regard. That is one of the reasons why we would really like you to join us. You would have a chance to experience every anthropologist's dream and Jim would be safe. Believe me, his talents would definitely come in handy out there and you wouldn't have to be looking over your shoulder any more."

So, in other words, after mentioning a rather nasty stick, now my brother is dangling a **_very_** tasty carrot right in front of my eyes, the question is: can I afford to go for it?


	29. Chapter 29: Flies on the Wall

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 29: Flies on the Wall  
(Jim's POV)

We've been sitting on a bench, almost out of sight of Blair and the others --at least almost out of sight by normal standards-- for a little more than half an hour... and the truth is that things are getting frustrating. It's not just that I don't have my guide with me --though I'm not particularly happy about that one-- it's that O'Neill keeps pestering me, wanting to know what's going on.

"So what are they saying?" he asks... again.

"They are arguing," I tell him.

"About?"

"Which one of us is best qualified to be the president of the Military Mother Hens from Hell Union, basically," I tell him with a smile, wanting to see how **_that_** goes over.

"Hey, I'm not so bad!" he defends himself.

"Tell that to Jackson, he is the one who is nominating you," I point out.

"But I'm not... it's just that he keeps getting in trouble and I..."

"Oh, believe me, I understand. Sandburg is the same," I say, deciding to let him off the hook, at least for now.

"So, what else are they saying?" he prods, realizing that we are in truce territory and deciding to take advantage of that fact.

"Sandburg just bluffed Carter into spilling the beans on your whole operation... and I don't think she appreciated it, to tell you the truth," I say.

"Can you say 'duh'?... Though I've got to hand it to the kid, bluffing Carter's not that easy."

"Oh, he's good, believe me, I know," I agree.

"Personal experience?" he asks.

"More than I care to think about," I say, shaking my head at the memories. "Now they are trying to turn the tables on Blair and bluff **_him_**... I could have told them it wasn't going to work."

"So, what's happening now?" he asks when he hears me chuckle.

"Well, Carter tried to tell Blair that if we join you, you could keep me safe from those who would have no qualms about using me to their ends... he asked her what was the difference between **_them_** blackmailing us and what she was trying to do by using my safety as a bargaining chip."

"Let me guess, she liked that even less than the whole bluffing thing, right?" says O'Neill, visibly wincing at the thought. Well, a good commanding officer is supposed to know the people under his command and it is apparent that --at least in that regard-- O'Neill is a good commanding officer.

"Yes."

"It's not fair that you can listen in on them and I can't," he all but pouts and I can't help it. O'Neill may be something I've been dreading for years--a military man who knows my secret-- but I actually like the guy.

"Yes, well, don't forget that right now your teammates are ganging up on **_my_** partner and I'm not too thrilled about that one either," I shoot back.

"Somehow I don't think the kid's going to be a pushover," he reminds me.

"Nope, he's tougher than he looks, you've got that right... though Jackson is appealing to his curiosity and..."

"Let me guess, and that **_always_** gets him in trouble?" he interrupts.

"How did you know?"

"Daniel... and Carter, come to think of it. Do you have any idea how many times I've told those two **_not_** to touch one thing or another?" he asks with a resigned look on his face.

"Let me guess: they do it anyways?"

"Yups... and you wouldn't believe how many things are out there that **_really_** shouldn't be touched."

"So Carter isn't really much better than Jackson when it comes to keeping herself out of trouble?" I ask.

"She's not **_that_** bad... and, in case you are wondering, by that I mean that she usually looks before she jumps head first into **_stuff_** ... of course, that doesn't always keep her from jumping. On the other hand, I've got to say that at least Daniel's rocks aren't usually explosive so..."

"And you are sure that having the three of them on the loose together is a good idea?" I ask, feeling suddenly worried. We had factored in Blair and Daniel when we tried to figure their combined trouble quotient, not Carter.

"No, but that's why we are tailing them, isn't it?" he reminds me.

"You've got a point there," I agree.

"You know, we really could use someone like you out there," he says, gesturing toward the sky.

"So we've come to the recruiting part of this whole thing already?" I ask.

"Nope, not recruiting, just making an innocent comment here," he says, though he is not fooling me... and he knows it.

"It's more than that," I say.

"Maybe," he concedes.

"Like Carter and Jackson trying to tempt Blair into joining you?" I push.

"They are probably just answering the kid's questions, Ellison. There's no need for you to get paranoid."

"It won't work, colonel. We are a team, I'm sure you know what that means... and talking to us separately is not going to get you anywhere," I warn him.

"Hey, it's not like I planned on us getting split up here, remember? That was our partners' bright idea!" he defends himself, still sounding far from happy about that one, and I have to admit he has a point there.

"Yes, but I still can't give you an answer without Blair here... and I can tell you that he won't give Jackson one without me there either," I say.

"So, you think they'll bite our heads off if we join them?" he asks, sounding almost hopeful.

I listen in for a moment, trying to decide whether or not they are ready for us. I know Jackson and Sandburg still have a lot of things they want to go over, a lot of catching up to do, but somehow I suspect they'll have plenty of time to get to know each other so I nod before saying:

"Nah, I think they won't mind too much."


	30. Chapter 30: The Lines Are Drawn

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 30: The Lines Are Drawn  
(Blair's POV)

I am caught more than a little off-guard when I see Jack and Jim coming our way though --come to think of it-- maybe I should have realized that that was inevitable. As soon as the conversation turned to recruitment there was no point in them staying away and they probably knew it. In fact in a way I think I am almost relieved by their presence.

Even though there was no way I was going to agree to anything without Jim here, the fact is that he is probably going to be far more effective when it comes to this particular negotiation than I could ever hope to be. I just don't know enough about the military to handle this one. I don't know what our options are likely to be and what kind of things we should watch out for here. In that regard this is Jim's field and I trust him to do most of the talking.

"Hi big guy!" I say, wondering how this is going to go.

"Hi, chief, sorry to butt in."

"It's okay, man. So, I take it this means we are ready to talk shop?" I ask.

"Looks that way."

After that things get kind of awkward, again, not that I'm particularly surprised by that fact. We are all here and we all know where this is going but no one seems to be willing to go first. It is a game of chicken... and the truth is that by now I'm growing more than a little tired of these childish pissing contests. Of course, with the stakes as high as they are, I know better than to say anything about it.

I'm looking at both Jim and Jack and I can see that neither one of them is particularly inclined to back down... and I can't help but wonder whether or not our grandkids will be in college by the time these two figure out that chances are they are on the same side. A look Daniel's way tells me that he shares my frustration. Finally it is Sam who breaks the silence, thus enabling her CO to break the standstill without losing face.

"Are we going to ask them to join us, sir?" she asks, looking at O'Neill.

"That's kind of the idea. So, what do you say?" asks the colonel.

"It depends," says Jim, giving nothing away.

"On?"

"On what you mean by join you, basically," he pushes.

"I mean you come to the Springs and join us, how hard is that to understand?"

"I understand that but the truth is that while we are willing to hear what you have to say we have some concerns of our own and we are not making any promises as to what our answer will be," Jim explains.

"It's not rocket science, Ellison, we want you to help us fight a bunch of galactic bullies who want to enslave our whole planet. What more do you need to know?" growls Colonel O'Neill.

"As I said, I need to know what you mean by 'join you'. We may be willing to help you out but we do so on our own terms," explains Jim.

"And what are your terms?"

"We work with you but we go in as civilian consultants."

"You know it doesn't work that way, Ellison. You are military," says O'Neill.

"Nope, I'm not military, I'm ex-military," Jim reminds him.

"If you join us you would be recalled to active duty, you know that."

"In that case the answer is 'no'."

"What do you mean the answer is 'no'?" asks O'Neill, looking more than a little frustrated.

"It means just what I said. I was screwed by my CO once and I don't want to find myself in that kind of position ever again. We go in as civilian consultants working for the SGC, both of us, or we don't go in at all. I work with Blair, he is my partner and I want to make sure we can't be separated, I can do that as a civilian consultant but not as military personnel and you know it," says Jim before going on.

"The fact is that even though I'm more than willing to help **_you_**, that doesn't mean that I'm willing to run the risk of being reassigned or turned into a guinea pig... and that means I have to stay in control and retain the freedom to get out at a moment's notice. Major Carter was using my safety as a bargaining chip earlier and the fact is that the **_only_** way in which my safety can be ensured is if I'm **_not_** in the military. If we are civilian consultants working **_specifically_** for the SGC, rather than for the Army or the Air Force, we remain in control of our own destiny, if I were to be considered military I could be reassigned and there would be nothing I could say or do about that, not without running the risk of being court-martialed. That is **_not_** an option."

"I understand, but you know I can't promise you that!" exclaims O'Neill.

"I know, and I'm not asking you to give me an answer right now," says Jim, sounding oddly conciliatory. "I understand the chain of command and that everything you are saying here is tentative at best. I know the final decision rests with your CO but you have to understand our position too. If I were to be recalled to active duty, what would happen if someone were to decide that my **_talents_** would be more useful elsewhere? What if someone were to try to reassign me without Blair? Those are risks we can't afford to take so, yes, we are willing to do our share but Sandburg and I watch each other's backs and we are **_not_** going to agree to any kind of deal that threatens our ability to do just that."

So this is it. I look from Jim to Jack and back again... and I know that the lines are drawn. The ball is in their court, though somehow I suspect it's not quite that simple. I suspect that there is a lot more to this encounter than meets the eye... and if I'm not mistaken my sentinel has already come up with at least half a dozen contingency plans for us to disappear without a trace.


	31. Chapter 31: One Week

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 31: One Week  
(Jim's POV)

I've been keeping my senses trained on Colonel O'Neill, knowing that I can't afford to miss any sign of deception here and I have to admit that --luckily-- so far I haven't found any. Of course, seeing how the decision won't be up to him, the fact that he is not lying doesn't necessarily mean we are safe. In fact we are anything but.

This is it, the cards are on the table and now all that's left for us to do is wait for their answer only that answer won't come for a while. That means that the next few days are going to be extremely dangerous. Sure, we can plan for the eventuality of our own disappearance, we can make sure that it **_doesn't_** go unnoticed and that it becomes a liability for anyone trying anything against us... but I'm not sure how much use that would really be. I am all too aware that, if it comes to that, by the time anyone notices we are missing it will almost certainly be too late.

That means that even though we need a plan in case we disappear, our emphasis is going to have to be on prevention and that is not going to be easy, not with what I suspect we may be up against. I know that, if we have to, we can count on Simon and probably on Jack Kelso. That at least gives us something to work with... though I also know there's a limit as to how far Kelso is going to be willing to risk his neck for us, just as I know there's a limit in terms of what we can ask of Simon if we don't want to put him in danger.

As for me I'm going to have to keep my eyes and ears open for any possible surprises, the problem is that in a city as big as Cascade that is not an easy thing to do. There are too many potential warning signs I usually dismiss as irrelevant and the worst part is that trying to keep track of all of them would drive me crazy in a matter of minutes. For a moment I consider the possibility of going camping for a few days while we wait for that answer but I dismiss the idea almost immediately. It is true that out in the woods suspicious sights and sounds would be much easier for me to spot... but it would also be much easier for us to vanish and that means we **_can't_** leave. The way I see it the best we can do is to keep our cell phones handy, to stay in touch with those we trust and to keep our schedule unpredictable... in fact maybe it would be a good idea for us to steer clear of the loft as much as possible, at least until we know just where we stand... and those contingency plans are just the tip of the iceberg.

In addition to that there's the fact that we are going to have no choice but to inform Simon that we will be leaving Cascade... permanently.

That is the part I haven't really wanted to think much about, the part I'm still struggling to come to terms with.

I am the Sentinel of the Great City, that's what Incacha called me and now leaving Cascade feels almost like a betrayal... but at the same time I know I can't stay. If O'Neill and company agree to our terms we will be relocating to Colorado Springs and if they don't... if they don't we will have no choice but to disappear. If they don't agree then staying here would be way too dangerous.

In other words, while leaving Cascade is not something I'm looking forward to, the fact remains that I know it is going to be all but unavoidable. If they agree to our terms we'll have to relocate and if they don't... well... if they don't then we can either flee or wait for **_them_** to come get us... and either way that would spell the end of the Sentinel of the Great City.

I was born here, Cascade has always been home... even though at times I've tried to deny it, even though at times I've hated this place, even though I've tried to escape from it and the memories it held more than once... especially from the memories it held.

The thing is that right now I'm not looking forward to my future, no matter what that future holds. Even if O'Neill somehow manages to pull off the impossible --even if he somehow manages to come through for us-- our lives are about to change and as Sandburg knows all too well I don't handle change gracefully under the best of circumstances --to say nothing of **_sudden_** change-- and that is exactly what we can no longer avoid.

The way I see it we have one week from the moment in which O'Neill and the others leave for Colorado... that's how long I think we can afford to wait before the risks become too great. That should be long enough for them to figure out if there's some way for us to join them but not long enough for anyone else to make their move.

I think we can hold them off for that long but in the meantime I'm going to have to make the necessary arrangements for us to get away, arrangements I hope we won't need, however I am well aware of just how careful I'm going to have to be here.

I still have my contacts and a few markers I can call but the problem is that I don't know who to trust. Yes, I have my contacts but those are, for the most part, military contacts and the fact remains that we may well end up having to flee the military so, with a couple of exceptions, trusting them will be a dangerous proposition... and I won't just be trusting them with my life, I'll be trusting them with Blair's as well.


	32. Chapter 32: Ironic

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Ironic  
(Blair's POV)

Well, I can't say that the past couple of days **_haven't_** been interesting... and it is hard to believe that it's only been a couple of days. A couple of days ago I was debating whether or not I should try to contact my brother, today my whole world seems to have been turned upside down and I can see that my sentinel is in full paranoid mode. Knowing better than to try to argue with him when he gets like this I ask:

"So, what's the plan, big guy?"

"The plan?"

"Yes, the one you have already devised to keep us safe."

"Is it that obvious?" he asks.

"Do you really want me to answer that one?"

"Not really, he says before going on. I think for the next few days we should wait and see, though we should also be careful and try to keep our own routine unpredictable. Other than that I think we should keep on living our lives, at least for the time being."

"And after a few days?" I ask, knowing what the answer to that question is going to be.

"I'm still not sure. I'll have to make some arrangements, he explains. I'm afraid that if we don't hear from O'Neill in less than a week we may have to disappear.

"To Peru?" I ask.

"That could well turn out to be our best bet in the long run. We would be welcome there and the Chopec have no contact with the outside world... the problem is that with my background that may be a little too obvious. Following us into the jungle would be difficult but if someone were to pull it off then the Chopec could well find themselves overpowered and I'd hate to put them in danger."

"Yes, but even if we **_don't_** head for Peru we may still end up jeopardizing the Chopec if someone **_believes_** that's where we are hiding, right?"

"Yes, and that's going to be a problem, though at least if we are actually there we may try to keep them safe, otherwise trouble would find them out of nowhere."

"If we have to go," I add, reminding him that we are talking about a possibility here, not a certainty.

"Yes."

"So, do you really think it will come to that?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think that would be the case if this whole thing were up to O'Neill but the problem is that my request is not going to be an easy one for them to grant."

"Why not?"

"Because the military doesn't usually hire formerly military personnel in a civilian capacity, at least not directly, he explains. That is a matter of policy and the truth is that if they don't agree then we can't stay, it would be too dangerous."

"Because we would be doomed to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders?" I ask.

"Exactly."

"In other words, unless they say 'yes', we are going to have to disappear?"

"I'm sorry, chief."

"Not your fault, big guy, though I've got to say that this whole thing sucks... big time."

"Yes, well..." he trails off and I can see that he is really worried about something... and I **_really_** need to figure out what that **_something_** is.

Realizing that this is not the time for games I decide to cut to the chase and ask, "what is it, big guy?"

"It's just that I feel like I'm betraying Incacha's memory here," he explains. "He called me the Sentinel of the Great City' and now I'm going to have to leave Cascade. How am I supposed to be the Sentinel of the Great City if at the first sign of trouble I'm willing to turn my back on that same Great City?"

"You are not betraying him, he would have been the first one to tell you to go. A wise man must know when to walk away from a battle he cannot win."

"I know but still..."

"We still don't know that O'Neill won't call back, I remind him. Maybe he'll be able to pull it off."

"It doesn't really matter, chief. Even if O'Neill calls, even if he agrees, we would still be leaving Cascade."

"Have you ever considered the fact that maybe you are looking at this whole thing from the wrong perspective?" I ask, not knowing what else to say.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are looking at it as a betrayal but you could also think of it as being promoted, I point out.

"Promoted?"

"Yes, at first you were the Sentinel of the Chopec and you looked after Incacha's tribe, then you became the Sentinel of the Great City and your tribe grew to include hundreds of thousands of people... now --if O'Neill calls back-- your tribe will grow again. If O'Neill calls back your tribe will grow to include our whole planet. In a way it will include both Cascade **_and_** the Chopec. You won't be betraying any of your duties, they will simply be taking on a different form," I explain.

"Protecting the whole planet, both Cascade and the Chopec... and everything in between? That would be a bit much for a single sentinel, don't you think?"

"Maybe, but you won't be alone," I remind him.

"So, how are you dealing with all of this, chief?"

"I'm not sure... I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the concept of a stargate and the fact that we may actually end up getting involved with something like that. It is mind boggling... not to mention more than a little ironic," I say with a smile, trying to distract Jim from both his paranoia and his misplaced sense of betrayal.

"Ironic?" he asks.

"Yes, don't you see? This whole thing started because of Naomi," I remind him.

"I'm afraid I'm not quite following you here, chief."

"Think of it this way: it was my decidedly anti-establishment, anti-military mother who accidentally pushed me to become a cop when she released my dissertation and forced me to turn my back on my chosen profession as an anthropologist. That was the first part of this whole story and now it turns out that it was also my peace-loving mother who wrote me the letter that caused me to look into Daniel's background and thus set this whole thing in motion. In a way you could say that my mother's letter may well end up forcing me to join the military, even if it is not in an official capacity. You've got to admit that **_that_** is more than a little ironic... I mean, we are talking **_Naomi_** here!"

"She's not going to be happy about this one, is she?" asks Jim and I'm relieved to see he is fighting to keep a smile off his face at the thought.

"Nope... and to make matters worse there's no way I can tell her the truth about **_why_** I'm joining the military in the first place because this whole thing is so hush-hush. Somehow I suspect that all of her non-violent beliefs are going to be seriously tested when she finds out... or, to put it simply, man, she's **_really_** going to have a cow!"

"You know how you keep saying I'm **_way_** over protective, chief?" asks Jim, pretending to be thinking things through.

"Yes..." I say with some suspicion, wondering what he is up to.

"Well, I think after all these years the time has finally come for me to prove to you, once and for all, that that's not true."

"What do you mean, Jim?"

"When you tell your mother... you are on your own, buddy," he explains.

"Some Blessed Protector you turned out to be," I mock growl, though the truth is that having to tell Naomi about this one is **_not_** something I'm looking forward to... far from it.


	33. Chapter 33: Homeward Bound

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 33: Homeward Bound  
(Jack's POV)

I rest my head against the side of the airplane, comforted by the familiar vibration and the sound of the engines as I try to make some sort of sense out of the events of the past couple of days. The thing is that I'm used to things going crazy on us when we are off-world --or whenever certain politicians who shall remain nameless try to get involved with something they can't possibly hope to understand-- but this, this was totally unexpected and the fact remains that I don't like surprises... and as far as surprises go, this one was a whopper. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that I'm happy for Daniel's sake, it's just that I kind of wish he would stop pushing.

For the past couple of days he's been trying --and trying hard-- to get me on board with his plan to recruit Blair into the SGC. The problem is that while I agree that both Sandburg and Ellison could turn out to be valuable additions to our team, I am all too aware that Ellison's request to join as a **_civilian_** consultant is bound to cause more than a little trouble. I understand **_why_** he made that request in the first place, of course --in fact I would almost certainly have made a similar one if I had been in his shoes-- but the fact that I understand doesn't change the fact that finding a way to make it happen is going to be a nightmare. I don't even want to consider how many policies would have to be waived to make something like that possible, though with a little luck the whole snafu of Ellison being 'misplaced' in Peru for a year and a half **_should_** be enough to justify his reluctance to sign up without raising too many red flags.

Yeah, right! The chances of something like this not raising any eyebrows are about as good as the ones we have in terms of running into a trustworthy snake the next time we are off-world and I know it.

The truth is that no matter **_how_** we bring them on board --if we manage to do it at all-- with Sandburg's press conference looming in the background there's no way this is going to go unnoticed and that **_won't_** be a good position for them to find themselves in. Of course, I also know that if they don't hear from us in a matter of days that won't really matter because both Ellison and Sandburg would disappear and I don't even want to imagine what that would do to Daniel.

The guy may not talk much about it but he's been yearning for a family since he was eight. I'm not blind, I know that **_that_** is the promise he gave his whole world up for when he chose to stay in Abydos... and that is the thing Apophis took from him when he took Sha're. The point is that losing Sandburg now would be yet another blow and I'm not sure Daniel can take it... especially if his brother were to be forced to go underground **_because_** of his involvement with the SGC... and we **_really_** can't afford to lose Daniel here. Yes, we have other archeologists but I'm well aware that they all rely on Daniel quite heavily to get things right. He is the heart and mind of our linguistics department, even if there are others in it who can take care of the details after they've been pointed in the right direction.

So, where do we stand? Let's see, we have a nearly impossible request that must somehow be granted or we run the risk of losing the one guy who keeps the SGC running in the first place. Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but not by much. The SGC **_could_** keep on running without Daniel, just not as efficiently, and Daniel probably **_wouldn't_** leave us even if Sandburg were to go under... but things would change for the worse and that is **_not_** something I want to see.

The thing is that, no matter how I look at it, this is a grade-A mess --one that is giving me a headache-- even if it's not my mess. Well, at least I can honestly say that in a couple of hours it will be completely out of my hands. That is a small comfort.

In that regard I love the chain of command. As soon as we land in Colorado Springs sorting this one out is going to be up to General Hammond... the only problem is that he is not going to be happy about this one and when the general ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Trickle down misery is the downside of the chain of command.

I think right now my most pressing concern has to do with the fact that, even though this isn't really my mess to sort out, it is my mess to explain... and I don't even have a clue as to how on earth am I supposed to tackle that one. We told the general that we might have a security leak and we went to Cascade to plug that leak... only to find that there was no leak in Cascade at all until we created it.

For some unknown reason I have the funny feeling that that is **_not_** what General Hammond wants to hear.


	34. Chapter 34: We REALLY Need a Better Cove

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 34: We **_REALLY_** Need a Better Cover Story  
(Jack's POV)

I'm standing across from General Hammond's desk, still wondering how to explain this one when he asks me to tell him exactly what happened on our little trip. Knowing that I have nowhere to hide I swallow hard and say:

"Well, sir, the good news is that almost as soon as we got to Cascade we were able to confirm that the person looking into Daniel's past **_wasn't_** looking for the SGC, he was interested in Daniel as a person rather than in his work."

"And the bad news?" asks the general, obviously waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Long story, short version: Jackson Junior pulled a Jackson... he basically figured it out anyway, sir," I explain.

"What do you mean, colonel?"

"Well, sir, with all due respect, we really need to come up with a better cover story."

"How about you tell me the long version and start at the beginning," he pushes and I know there's no way out of this one.

"Well, sir, the beginning would have more than a little to do with a really cute redhead traveling through Egypt in September of '68 when all wasn't well in the Jacksons marriage."

"What?" he asks.

"I did mention it was a long story, didn't I?"

"Okay, first things first, care to explain the statement 'Jackson Junior pulled a Jackson', colonel?"

"It's just what it sounds like, sir," I say.

"And who is this 'Jackson Junior'?"

"The guy who was looking into Daniel's background in the first place, sir... and the redhead's son. Apparently after thirty five years she decided to share with Junior the name of his father."

"Let me guess, Dr. Jackson Sr.?" asks the general, sounding far from pleased.

"Yes, sir, it seems like Danny has a little brother after all... and that little brother was trying to figure out whether or not he should try and contact his big brother in the first place. He is a nice guy and he didn't think it was worth turning his brotherís life upside down if it turned out that they had nothing in common other than half their DNA. Of course, when we flew to Cascade we kind of accidentally took the decision away from him... but luckily it turned out that the two of them do have quite a bit in common... in fact you could probably say that they have a little **_too much_** in common."

"Do you mean to tell me that I sent three fourths of my flag-team, and compromised the security of this whole project, just because some guy was running a background check on his **_brother_**?" asks the general, sounding like he canít quite believe it... and, well, when he puts it like that I canít really blame him.

"Yes, sir."

"And the part about him pulling a Jackson?" he pushes.

"You know how Daniel's brains are just as good for getting us **_into_** trouble as out of it, sir?" I ask.

"Believe me, colonel, I'm well aware of that fact."

"Well, it seems that those trouble-prone brains run in the family," I explain. "The kid may not have known who his father was until a couple of weeks ago but the brains and the luck seem to be family traits just the same... as is the habit of spousing weird theories that get them kicked out of cozy academic circles. Anyway, Sandburg, a.k.a. Jackson Junior kind of figured that the idea that the pyramids were actually built by aliens made a lot more sense than the idea that a covert ops specialist and an archeologist who was laughed out of the wonderful land of academia because he believed that the pyramids were built by aliens were working together for the Air Force alongside an astrophysicist on something having to do with deep space radar telemetry, sir."

"And you just let him?" all but yells the general, glaring at me.

"Well, sir, with all due respect, the kid didn't ask for my permission before he figured that one out. I swear that if he had asked I would have told him he was not allowed to do it."

"To the best of your knowledge, colonel, is the situation contained?" he asks, shaking his head.

"Yes, sir. I don't think they are going to say anything but..."

"**_THEY?_** How the hell did we go from a **_he_** to a **_they_**? I thought we were talking about Dr. Jackson's brother!"

"Well, sir, it turns out that Sandburg's a detective, he works with a partner... I think you know what I'm getting at," I explain, hoping that the general will be able to fill in the blanks.

"So what do we know about these people? And I want a real answer," all but growls the general, who I suspect is now on the brink of losing his temper and sending me to the brig.

"Blair Sandburg was born in 1969, the son of one Naomi Sandburg and --as he recently found out-- one Melburn Jackson. He started college at age sixteen, anthropology, and was putting the finishing touches on his dissertation on a rather controversial topic when parts of that dissertation were somehow leaked to the press... I believe the redhead had something to do with that particular snafu. He denounced his own work as a fraud to protect his subject and eventually was hired as a detective by the Cascade PD where he is currently teamed with one Detective James Ellison, who used to be in the army."

"Wait, Ellison... isnít that the guy who was MIA for a year and a half somewhere in South America over ten years ago?"

"That's the one sir, which is how they were able to connect my name to my background even though most of the details are classified and they didn't have access... and that's also how they were able to gather enough information on me to figure out that there was no way on earth I was babysitting some radiotelescope somewhere. I mean, when you put what Ellison knows about the military and team it up with Sandburg's brains you won't get much past those two... and, as I said, we really do need a better cover story."

"And how am I supposed to explain this one to the chiefs?" all but whines the general, not sounding particularly thrilled about that little 'perk'... as for me, I'm just glad I'm not going to be the one having to do that bit of explaining.

"I don't know, but the fact is that the kid is bound to become a part of Daniel's life so we might as well deal with it now... and with the fact that, according to Carter, chances are that the ability of the Jackson brothers to get in trouble will increase exponentially when they get together,. Of course, seeing how we only had a couple of days this time around we didn't really have a chance to test that theory. Carter was actually quite disappointed by that fact but..."

"Should I be worried about that?" interrupts the general.

"Yes, sir, very worried. It looks like Sandburg is as trouble-prone as Daniel is."

"And now there are **_two_** of them?"

"Funny, sir, that's exactly what I said... by the way, I guess maybe this would be a good time for me to mention that that's **_not_** all?" I ask, knowing that the worst is yet to come.


	35. Chapter 35: So Few Choices

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 35: So Few Choices  
(Hammond's POV)

I'm wondering if maybe I should throw SG-1 in the brig just on the general principle but somehow I don't think it's worth the effort... and it's not like pulling my hair out is much of an option either. 

I know blaming them for this particular mess is not entirely fair but one has to wonder how they manage. I mean, what are the odds that Dr. Jackson's younger brother would turn out to be a detective who is partnered with a former covert ops specialist with a pretty big secret of his own, to say nothing of the fact that --just like his brother-- the kid entered college at the age of sixteen to study anthropology and ended up finding himself basically banned from academic circles for daring to embrace a rather farfetched theory that actually turned out to be correct? On a second thought I'm not sure I want to know, meaning that I better make sure **_not_** to ask that question while Major Carter is within a mile of this mountain.

Of course, regardless of the odds and of whether or not I want to know about them, the fact remains that I'm going to have no choice but to deal with the fallout from this one and that brings me to the question of what on earth am I supposed to do with the ticking time bomb SG-1 just dropped on my lap. I know I should be used to this kind of situations by now but the truth is that I'm not... especially not when the **_situations_** in question are confined to this world. Those are my biggest headaches... and with this job that is saying something.

The fact is that this is one mess that goes a lot deeper than the average off-world-related SG-1 crisis and it is also bound to be far trickier to deal with. Off-world-related crisis I can handle, those the President and the Chiefs **_know_** require 'creative' solutions that don't always mesh with standard military policy, so they are more or less willing to turn a blind eye to the scores of regulations that SG-1 usually leaves in its wake, twisted beyond all recognition, but this? This situation is entirely earth-bound and as such it is a situation they would normally expect to be handled by the book. The problem is that I don't think SG-1 ever heard of 'the book' and that is where things are likely to get complicated. Honestly, you'd think that doing things by the book wouldn't be quite so difficult when you've got a linguist involved but **_no_**... I swear that Dr. Jackson's title does nothing but lure you into a false sense of security in that regard.

Now, I'm not denying that part of the problem is that at times the book doesn't work any better here on earth than it does out there --as SG-1's latest escapade proves-- but still that doesn't make my life any easier... at least not in the short term, though the long term may well turn out to be a different story. A 'sentinel', that's something I never even imagined could possibly exist here on our own world, and right under our very noses... and the fact that it exists at all represents an unexpected challenge, not to mention an unexpected opportunity. Yes, getting Ellison and Sandburg on board probably won't be easy but --if I can pull it off at all-- recruiting those two could well turn out to be a major coup... and that makes it all that much clearer to me **_why_** Ellison made such an unusual request in the first place.

Even now just thinking of what someone like Ellison could contribute off-world is mind-boggling and almost without realizing it I find myself regretting the fact that there's **_only_** one sentinel we can possibly hope to recruit... and that the fact that there's only **_one_** sentinel means that there's only one team he can be assigned to, because --if what I've been told about his senses is anything to go by-- then he would be invaluable to us. For years we've been struggling to increase the range of our sensors in hopes of offering our people better protection when they step through the gate, that's been a constant concern but even after all these years the fact remains that even our best scanners are limited at best, providing us with only a partial picture that all too often turns out to be misleading... not to mention that, given that the gate is not exactly stealthy when it engages, any potential enemy waiting for us on the other side has plenty of time to take cover. 

I've lost track of just how many times my teams have walked straight into an ambush by now and even though I know a sentinel's help would do nothing to improve those scanners, the fact is that ambushes would become far more difficult for our enemies to pull off... and the possibility of getting a sentinel is only **_half_** the story here.

In addition to someone who can help us overcome our scanners' shortcomings --at least when it comes to one team-- we could also get someone who sounds like a potential second for our linguistics department, someone who could both lighten the workload of Dr. Jackson and complement his skills. That's something we've been looking for for a while with very little success... now If only making it happen were something that could be achieved with anything **_short_** of an executive order. Unfortunately that seems to be the only option available to us right now and, to make matters worse, Colonel O'Neill has already warned me that the clock is ticking on this particular opportunity.

The thing is that, even though I'm not happy about it, I can definitely understand their reluctance and Ellison's refusal to return to military duty. That leaves me with very little choice so, rather hesitantly, I reach for the red phone and hope that the president will be in a good mood, if he's not, well, then throwing SG-1 in the brig just on the general principle certainly remains a viable proposition... especially because pulling my hair out is **_not_** an option.


	36. Chapter 36: Burning Bridges

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 36: Burning Bridges  
(Blair's POV)

I hesitate for a moment as I throw a worried glance Jim's way, knowing that what's to come is not going to be pleasant but at the same time knowing it can't really be avoided.

Jack called us last night to tell us that our request has been approved, that we will be allowed to join the SGC as civilian consultants --both of us-- and that means the time has come for us to give Simon our two week's notice. Somehow I don't think he's going to be particularly happy about that.

In two weeks we will be leaving Cascade for good and the worst part is that we can't even tell him why... though I'm sure he can imagine part of the reason. We are leaving for our own safety, that part I'm sure he'll understand, that part we can explain but at the same time we **_can't_** tell him about the aliens, we **_can't_** tell him about the stargate and **_that_** feels too much like a betrayal.

For years Simon's helped us, guarding our secrets and I know we can trust him with the truth about **_why_** we are leaving and where we are going but unfortunately that's not our call to make so we have no choice but to keep quiet. That tacit deception is bothering me more than a little and I know it's also bothering Jim. We are lying by omission to someone we both know deserves better and there's nothing we can do about it... funny how obfuscating didn't use to bother me this much.

The thing is that even now, after all these years, Simon is still keeping up the pretense of guarding our secret in spite of the fact that pretty much everyone in Major Crimes figured out almost immediately that the press conference **_was_** the fraud... and now we can't even be honest with him. Of course, I also know that our inability to tell Simon the truth about **_why_** we are leaving is only the tip of a very big and nasty iceberg.

The thing is that right now, as we prepare ourselves to tell Simon that we are leaving, I can't help but feel that we are burning our bridges, that we've reached the point of no return and that terrifies me. We are leaving Cascade and in a way telling Simon makes it official... and there's a part of me --not too deep down-- that doesn't want to leave.

As I was growing up I never really stayed in one place for long and to this day I still think of myself as being a sort of modern day nomad... or at least I did until a few days ago. That's when I was hit by an amazing realization: I've lived in Cascade for more than half my life. I first moved here when I was sixteen years old and that was almost twenty years ago... and now the time has come for me to move again.

I'd never really thought of a place as being **_home_** before and now I'm about to leave my first home behind. In a way I guess this whole thing reminds me of that old song about being homesick for a home I've never had, only in this case I'm not homesick for a home I never had but rather for a home I never knew I had... and I haven't even left yet.

I know Jim is coming with me to Colorado, in fact I know Jim is, to a large extent, the reason we are moving to Colorado in the first place and that helps but there are so many things --so many people-- we will be leaving behind... and in a way SImon represents those things and those people.

Ever since I can remember Naomi always told me to detach with love, which I can now see was her code-phrase for don't get attached at all. I've never really been able to subscribe to that particular philosophy of hers but the thing is that in the past twenty years I had forgotten how much leaving can hurt... and the truth is that --precisely because of Naomi's refusal to get attached-- I had never had so much to leave behind in the first place. When I was forced to leave as a child that meant leaving behind my home of a few months at most, not my home of more than half my life.

Yes, I'm looking forward to life in Colorado Springs and beyond, I'm looking forward to boldly go where no man has gone before --though hopefully I'll manage to do it without going bald myself-- I'm looking forward to this chance to explore new worlds and new civilizations... though I am well aware that the new worlds, and especially the new civilizations, are likely to have teeth but I can cope with that if it means that I actually get a chance to **_see_** other worlds.

The thing is that even though those prospects are exciting they are also in the future and that means they have little to do with what's bothering me now. Right now I have to gather the courage to do what has to be done, to say goodbye to Simon and the rest of Major Crimes... and to leave behind the first real home I ever had.

* * *

**_Author's note_**: Sorry about the delay, I meant to post this earlier today but I was experiencing some technical difficulties, 

Alec


	37. Chapter 37: Stranger in a Strange Land

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 37: Stranger in a Strange Land  
(Jim's POV)

We arrived in Colorado Springs a couple of hours ago and the truth is that it's going to take us a while to get settled. Right now I think our top priority is to get our bearings after the two day drive to get here, then the next item on the agenda is to actually find a place to live.

For the time being we are going to be staying with Daniel, though I know things are going to be a little crowded and I really want us to get our own place as soon as we can. Sandburg may keep teasing me about my territorial instincts but the truth is that he is not too far off the mark on that one.

The thing is that even though my every instinct rebels at the thought of staying in someone else's space, when Daniel offered us a place to crash, I could see that Blair was itching for a chance to get to know his brother and I just couldn't bring myself to say 'no'. Of course, in addition to that, the fact remains that even though the idea of staying in someone else's space is not something I'm particularly comfortable with, the alternative --staying at the base-- wasn't really that much better.

The truth is that, no matter how I look at it, the way in which this whole thing has unfolded has been grating against my every instinct. I feel like I'm totally out of control here and that is not something I handle gracefully, though luckily Sandburg has managed to take it all in stride. I **_need_** to know where I'm going, I **_need_** to have a well defined plan --especially when it comes to something as big as moving half-way across the country-- and right now a plan is the one thing we most definitely don't have. For me that is nerve-wracking, for Blair that is similar to his countless moves with Naomi when he was growing up.

The thing is that even though everything about our move here has been more than a little rushed, at the same time I understand why it had to be this way, I understand that this was the safest way to do it and I realize we couldn't really afford to put it off in order to work out the details. We joined the SGC for protection and that meant that we couldn't afford to take too long to relocate. Getting **_here_** was our top priority, even if that meant not having a place to call home when we first arrived.

And that brings me back to our current situation and to the fact that our living arrangements are just the tip of the iceberg. I know there are plenty of adjustments we are going to have to make in the coming days and months and I know they won't be easy... and, to make matters worse, the truth is that I don't think Blair is fully aware of what's in store for us. Up until now he has seen this whole thing as a wonderful adventure --as a chance to work with his brother and an opportunity to travel to other worlds-- but he hasn't realized that there's going to be a lot more to this than that. Even after all these years --and after everything we've been through together-- he still expects the best of people, me, I certainly know better and I am well aware that right now we may well be on a collision course with the darker side of human nature.

The truth is that there are a number of things we are bound to encounter here that **_will_** represent a hard adjustment. For me working at the SGC will mean that I have to go back to a life I had thought I'd left behind and for Blair it's going to entail embracing something he was brought up to despise. I'm not kidding myself about that, I know that it is going to be a major shock for him once he realizes just what it is that we've gotten ourselves into here. When we met Daniel and the others in Cascade, Sandburg was over the moon at the thought of finally having met his brother and neither Colonel O'Neill nor Major Carter were really in military mode, I suspect that that is about to change and, even if it doesn't, there are bound to be others at the base that will almost certainly have a hard time accepting Blair as one of their own.

Sure, the SGC doesn't sound like the most traditional secret military project, in fact it can't be, but in spite of that it **_is_** a secret military project and that means that there are bound to be at least a few elements attached to it who **_are_** hardcore military. Daniel may have earned their respect but I am well aware that Sandburg is far less military than his brother and he **_hasn't_** been there since long before any of them came on board.

In other words, my guide is going to have an uphill battle in order to be accepted and chances are that they are going to be even less thrilled to have me there. Sandburg may be something they are not to keen on --a peace-loving, anti-military and anti-establishment neo-hippy-- I'm something they despise even more: someone who has turned his back on the military and who --even when working for the military-- has explicitly refused to rejoin their ranks.

Yes, I had my reasons to make that request and I don't regret it, but I seriously doubt most of the people we are going to be working with are going to be too eager to accept that explanation.

The good news, the one thing that may make this transition a little easier, is the fact that --unlike what was the case back in Cascade-- here I won't have to worry about hiding my senses.

That is one thing we certainly **_won't_** miss of our old life. Sure, ever since Sandburg renounced his work as a fraud everyone in Major Crimes has known the truth but while that did ease things a bit there remained other problems. It's true that we no longer had to worry about our coworkers finding out but there was still the DA and everyone else to deal with. I didn't just have to find the bad guys, I had to make sure that the evidence would hold in court and at times **_that_** was a nightmare, especially when I had to choose between saving a life and being able to bring the perps to justice... when saving a life meant allowing some scumbag to walk on a technicality. Here I'll just have to do my job to the best of my abilities and, for the first time since my senses came back online, there won't be a chance that 'the best of my abilities' will turn into a liability instead.

Yes, I'm a sentinel and I know I'm different. It's taken me this long **_not_** to think of myself as a freak, but the thing is that starting tomorrow I'm going to be working with a group of people who are used to things far more unusual than a man with heightened senses and --for the first time since a certain neo-hippy-witch-doctor-punk walked into my life-- I won't be hiding.


	38. Chapter 38: Looming Opportunities

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 38: Looming Opportunities  
(Blair's POV)

I've spent the last couple of hours going over some of Daniel's private journals concerning SG-1's most memorable off-world encounters and all I can say is '**_wow!_**' I guess in a way those journals have made the stargate suddenly seem real to me, as have a couple of artifacts he keeps here --some of his wife's personal belongings and a few reminders of his time in Abydos-- and that in turn has given me a lot to think about. The truth is that up until now I had been focused mostly on the stargate as an abstract concept. I was fascinated by what it could do and by the possibilities it opened from an anthropological perspective but now that has changed and I'm having a hard time coping with some of those changes. What I've seen here in Daniel's place has forced me to acknowledge the dark side of that promise and that --to be honest-- is really creeping me out.

The fact is that Daniel's wife was taken by a Goa'uld, she was turned into one of them and made a prisoner in her own body until one of Daniel's friends was forced to kill her to save his life. I never met her --and I obviously never will-- but her story has made me realize that when we walk through that stargate it won't just be an opportunity to meet new people, to explore other worlds. Whenever we walk through that stargate we will also be stepping into a war zone and **_that_** I'm more than a little wary of.

Yes, I knew from the very beginning that the SGC was a military operation but up until now the military part of that description hadn't really sinked in... of course, up until we arrived here in Daniel's place I was having more than a little trouble when it came to trying to come to terms with any of this so that is hardly surprising.

I guess in a way the anthropologist in me couldn't quite accept the fact that any of this was real, at least not until he was presented with some solid, tangible evidence, until he was presented with some sort of proof he could actually analyze. What can I say, I may have spent most of my life chasing myths and sentinels but that is nothing compared to how **_unbelievable_** this whole thing still sounds.

The thing is that in the few hours since our arrival I've been hit and hit hard by the realization that this is really real and I admit that **_that_** is making me more than a little nervous... not to mention that it is also making me wonder if I can really handle something of this magnitude. I used to think that the stakes were high on some of our high-profile cases back in Cascade but now I realize just how trivial all of that really was. Yes, our job was far from meaningless --it made people feel safe and we may have prevented hundreds of crimes by getting some pretty nasty perps off the streets-- but that is nothing compared to what we will be doing here... of course, that's not the only difference.

Unlike our job in Cascade, our work here will be all but invisible and --if we are successful-- no one will ever hear about it. Unlike what was the case in Cascade we will no longer have to worry about the press or anything like that... and yet if we were to fail the consequences would be far more devastating than any serial killer's rampage. There are literally six billion lives on the line here and that is a sobering thought.

Of course, in addition to that there's also the fact that we are going to be working in an entirely new environment and **_that_** is something I can't afford to overlook. In fact in that regard I was very grateful when Daniel invited us to stay with him until we could find a place of our own and I was incredibly relieved when Jim actually agreed. I know it sounds strange but the truth is that even though I'm itching to see the stargate I didn't want us to have to report to the mountain as soon as we arrived in Colorado Springs. Yes, we will have to go there tomorrow --and I'm really looking forward to it-- but at least this way we will get a chance to rest first and that may well end up making all the difference in the world. I know Jim doesn't like change but in this case there is more than that going on.

Daniel's place is pretty sentinel-friendly --and I know that even if I were to make some strange request Daniel would understand-- but I don't know what to expect out of the base and that worries me. What I do know is that a military base is unlikely to be an environment in which I will be allowed to make whatever changes I deem necessary to make it a comfortable environment for a sentinel and that is something Jim and I are just going to have to deal with. When we go to that base my sentinel will be confronted with what may well be hundreds of new stimuli and --even though now Jim is in full control of his senses-- mastering such an environment is still likely to be a major undertaking.

Let's face it, we are going to be working under a mountain so --even if they were willing to go out of their way to accommodate Jim's special needs-- it's not like asking them to do something as simple as open a window is going to be a viable option.

* * *

**_Author's note:_** okay guys, I just wanted to give you a heads up that there **_won't_** be an update to this story next week and that the one after that is going to be one day late (in other words, I won't be posting on Dec. 25 and the chapter that should have been uploaded on Jan. 1 will be uploaded on Jan 2 instead). Sorry about that but the holidays are going to get in the way... and since we are on the subject **_HAPPY HOLIDAYS!_**

_Alec_****


	39. Chapter 39: Take It from the Top

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 39: Take It from the Top  
(Jim's POV)

I'm trying to keep my senses trained on Blair as we approach the mountain but the truth is that it is a struggle, it is something that goes against my every instinct. He's been on full-blown guide mode since we left Daniel's place, insisting that I focus on him or that I keep things dialed down until I get used to this new environment but after all these years of relying on my senses in the field, approaching a new situation without them feels unnatural... in fact it feels like I'm going in blind and I hate it. As hard as I fought my senses back in the beginning I now know that they are a part of me and I'm not entirely sure of how to function without them... unfortunately they still pose some risks and that's what's causing my current predicament.

My instincts are telling me that I should be scanning my surroundings, making sure there are no looming threats but my guide is telling me **_not_** to do that and that terrifies me. I understand where he is coming from, of course. I know he is more worried about the environment we are about to enter than about any possible threats that may be waiting for us there but I can't just ignore those threats... especially because this particular scenario comes a little too close for comfort to one I have been dreading for a very long time.

The good news is that I have been scanning Daniel's reactions since we arrived and I'm fairly certain that, as far as he knows, this is not a trap... the bad news is that that doesn't tell me anything about what he **_doesn't_** know and that is **_not_** a comforting thought. The problem here is a simple one: even the best lie detector in the world can only detect a deliberate lie, one in which the liar is aware of the truth so the fact that I know that Daniel **_isn't_** lying doesn't really mean much.

Sure, the fact that he has been working at the SGC for a number of years is reassuring, as is the fact that he is considered critical to the program's success or the fact that the relationship between him and Blair is just a coincidence, one no one was aware of until a couple of weeks ago, but even that is no guarantee. Yes, from what we've been told Daniel's contribution to the SGC's success so far has been crucial enough to make it unlikely that the higher-ups would do anything that could possibly alienate him... but I can't afford to forget that we are talking about the military here and that means that the issue is unlikely to be that straight forward. The bottom line is that in the end the decision **_not_** to lie to Daniel would require those same higher-ups to be looking at the big picture and I'm all too aware that that's **_not _**always their strong suit. 

Sure, there are some highly qualified people in the military, the problem is that --thanks to the chain of command-- the ones who are best prepared to make a particular decision are not always, or even usually, the ones calling the shots. In other words: while Daniel trusts General Hammond, as do Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter, we can't afford to overlook the fact that all three of them have admitted that they **_have_** had some less than pleasant run ins with some other branches of our esteemed government when those particular branches tried to take control of the stargate for their own purposes... but then again that is hardly surprising. 

As Blair put it when we were talking about it last night, it is all a simple matter of fish and ponds. The US military is used to being a very big fish here on earth and I guess it is only natural that there are going to be quite a few elements in it who are having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the rules have changed. The US military may have been a big fish here but the thing is that they have gone from a tiny garden pond to the open ocean and as a result all of a sudden they have been reduced to little more than small fry.

I mean, even though from what Daniel's told us the SGC has been able to hold its own against the likes of the Goa'uld, that does nothing to change the fact that pissing the Asgard off would be a **_really_** bad idea and that's something some elements of our government have come pretty close to doing more than once... and those elements **_do_** have their fingers in the SGC pie.

In other words we are heading straight into something that may or may not be a trap and at the same time my guide is telling me to dial down my senses, do I even have to say how much that is bothering me?


	40. Chapter 40: Down the Rabbit Hole

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 40: Down the Rabbit Hole  
(Blair's POV)

We have been in this elevator for what feels like hours and the truth is that I'm more than a little nervous. What can I say, ever since my encounter with Galileo, elevators have been one thing I've tried to avoid whenever possible and this one is worse than most... or maybe it's just my imagination. It's just that it seems to go so deep into the earth, that it goes down instead of up and that it hardly ever stops. I think maybe that's what's bothering me the most. With most elevators you stop every couple of floors, people get in and out but here that is just not happening all that often and even when the elevator does stop, even when the doors do open, they open to endless gray corridors that are almost completely devoid of identifying features... do I even have to say that I find this environment to be totally unnatural?

Of course, in addition to that there's also Jim for me to worry about. I can see that he is struggling to keep his senses dialed down as I told him to do and yes, I do realize how hard that must be for him but the fact that I understand how he feels does nothing to change the fact that right now that's the safest thing he can do. Once we reach the SGC we'll see what the situation really is and work on each one of his senses separately but until we can 'recalibrate' them to compensate for this unnatural environment we have no choice but to be extremely careful. Simply put, keeping Jim's senses dialed down is a must if we want to minimize the risk that he will zone out on some unexpected stimulus.

Yes, these people know he is a sentinel --or they will be told soon enough-- but I seriously doubt they understand what that means, what it entails. They may be aware of the advantages his senses afford him but I don't think they understand just how easily those same senses can be turned into a liability, how vulnerable they can make him and that is where the danger lies... and I suspect those limitations are going to turn out to be far more dangerous here than they ever were back in Cascade.

Sure, in Cascade those limitations did represent a bit of a problem at times but the truth is that even in the worst of cases they were more a nag than a threat. Back there Jim's senses could be controlled, for the most part, without really endangering his life or the lives of those around him... I suspect that here that will no longer be the case.

The thing is that, even though back in Cascade Jim sometimes relied on his senses to chase down a criminal, that was the exception rather than the norm. Back when he was a detective Jim used his senses mostly to analyze crime scenes and that meant that the risks were kept to a minimum. Crime scenes may have been deeply disturbing at times but they were usually safe and --more often than not-- the criminals were long gone by the time we got there. That meant that, for the most part, Jim was using his senses in an environment in which he could afford to zone out without really jeopardizing his life.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't **_always_** the case, but the bottom line is that --for the most part-- past crime scenes are likely to be safer than current or future battlefields. Yes, Jim's senses may keep a team safely away from an ambush and in that regard they may well turn out to be invaluable but at the same time they may also render him incredibly vulnerable at the worst of times and that is not something I'm sure we'll ever be able to overcome.

Right now that's my primary concern. I mean, I know there must be a solution, I know that, throughout history, sentinels have successfully operated in environments that were far less predictable than the ones Jim and I are used to dealing with. I know historically sentinels have performed their duties as scouts and watchmen under all kinds of circumstances, tracking the movement of both game and enemies but the problem is that the guides' handbook was lost a long time ago and I **_really_** don't have a clue as to how am I supposed to handle this situation. What I do know is that trying to reinvent the wheel while on a moving vehicle is **_not_** the best of ideas... unfortunately I may well find myself with no choice but to do just that.


	41. Chapter 41: Sentinel and Guide

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Birds of a Feather  
Chapter 41: Sentinel and Guide  
(Hammond's POV)

I'm looking at the two men who are sort of standing in front of me --the latest additions to the SGC-- and the truth is that they are nothing like I had been expecting them to be... especially Sandburg. The guy looks so out of place here that it's not even funny.

When Jack told me that Daniel had a brother I basically pictured a slightly younger version of our favorite archeologist and even after I had seen some pictures of said brother, well, let's just say that those pictures failed to prepare me to meet the man.

The first thing I noticed about him is that he's short... okay, to be perfectly honest the first thing I noticed was the hair but then again it is kind of hard to miss. In addition to that there's the fact that he just won't stand still... and the fact that as soon as he walked into my office he made himself at home and perched himself on my desk. Now, I may not be a stickler for protocol but the way I see it this kid is definitely taking things too far. I tried glaring at him but it didn't really do me any good. As for his partner, well, at least the man **_looks_** like he belongs in a military facility... in fact, regardless of what the official paperwork may say, I can tell that the man is military to the core. That should be a source of comfort under the circumstances but unfortunately the fond amusement with which he is looking at his partner tells me all I need to know about how much help he's likely to be when it comes to keeping Jackson Jr. --I mean, Sandburg-- in line. I may be the general in charge of this facility but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that, as far as Ellison is concerned, **_Sandburg_** is his commanding officer and that is **_not_** something that's likely to change any time soon.

I have to struggle to keep myself from shaking my head. I had been kind of hoping against hope that this **_wouldn't_** turn out to be another one of those ticking time-bombs SG-1 seems to enjoy dropping on my lap on a regular basis but apparently it is going to turn out to be just that. No matter how I look at it, I don't think the concept of military discipline is something Sandburg is going to be embracing any time soon and, if the way in which Ellison is looking at him is anything to go by, then chances are there's a lot more to this kid than meets the eye and **_that_** is definitely reminiscent of his older brother... too bad he is so definitely **_not_** military.

Well, I guess things will get **_interesting_** around here with these two, not that they weren't interesting enough. Of course, right now my top priority has to be to figure out what these two can do and what the heck am I supposed to do with them and **_that_** I'm afraid **_won't_** be easy. Sure, I've read their files but seeing how they managed to keep the sentinel aspect out of those same files, I am all too aware that the information I've been able to gather is essentially worthless... or far less reliable than it should have been.

I mean, Sandburg's qualifications as an anthropologist **_will_** make him a valuable asset to this facility --as will Ellison's military experience and survival skills-- but the fact remains that those are **_not_** the skills that brought them here. They are here because they are sentinel and guide and that is something that, just like Sandburg, will probably take some getting used to.

* * *

**_Autnor's notes_**: Hi guys, okay, first of all, thank you for your reviews, they are deeply appreciated. Now about this chapter I have three apologies to make: sorry about the delay, sorry about the the short chapter and sorry about the bad chapter. I've rewritten this thing three times already and I'm still not happy with it.

Alec


	42. Chapter 42: The Fine Print

**_For disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 42: The Fine Print  
(Sam's POV)

Okay, so this day is not going quite as I had hoped it would but it could certainly have been worse. I knew that we would be spending most of it trying to get Jim and Blair acquainted with the SGC but I had also hoped to be able to conduct a few tests on Jim... unfortunately Blair shot that idea down in a hurry. That's left me with only one choice here, and that choice would **_not_** have been my first one.

"Blair, may I ask you a few questions?" I ask, deeply relieved by the fact that the colonel and Teal'c have **_borrowed_** Jim to try to get an idea of just what his skills are when it comes to hand to hand combat.

"Sure."

"It's about Jim's senses, about what he can do, what to expect and so on," I explain, not quite knowing how to phrase it. I've been teased a little too often about my 'evil scientist' side and I **_really_** don't want to scare him. I know just how wary Blair still is about the military getting too close to Jim and getting him over that fear is going to take a while.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I have a few questions about how that is going to work myself," he admits.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's face it, the conditions we are going to be working under here are going to be very different from the ones we are familiar with, so I'm not really sure what to expect or how this is all going to work out."

"And yet you wouldn't let me run any tests on him," I point out, hoping that I may be able to get him to change his mind about that.

"It's not so simple. First of all, right now any tests would be liable to provide you with false results so there's..."

"False results? Why?" I interrupt him.

"Because as far as Jim's senses are concerned, this is an alien and extremely hostile environment, one he can barely function in. It's going to take him at least a couple of days to get used to it enough to be able to compensate automatically so the only thing any tests done right now would accomplish would be to annoy him. Believe me, he **_doesn't_** like tests even in the best of cases... I should know."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been helping him for years now and even back when we first met, when he was desperate for something that could possibly enable him to achieve some semblance of control, he resented my attempts to measure his skills... he said I made him feel like a lab rat. It took me a while to figure out that the best --if not the only-- way to get Jim to cooperate with me was to disguise my tests as something he could actually use."

"Actually, I meant what do you mean when you say that as far as he is concerned this is an alien environment," I say, smiling a little, though I definitely appreciate the heads up concerning how to approach any possible tests of Ellison's senses in the future.

"Oh, that. I was trying to help him cope with it earlier but the truth is that he is still having a bit of trouble. There are so many things that are bugging him right now --things I don't even register-- that we never really got past him being able to function without having me glued to his side. That's one of the reasons he agreed to go to the gym with Jack and Teal'c. He is trying to see how independent he can be."

"It can't be **_that_** bad!" I exclaim.

"Actually it's even worse," says Blair with a smile. "You have to understand that Jim's world is very different from ours. As far as he is concerned the hum of the ventilation system that is constantly reverberating through the corridors is almost deafening and, given that this facility is deep underground, there is no fresh air, no natural light and so on. For him all of those little things are constant nuisances and until he can learn to properly compensate for them there's no point in trying to run any tests because the environment would be getting in the way of your results... and I can tell you now that there's no way you are going to get him to agree to go through the same test twice without a damned good reason."

"But if he needs to get used to an environment before he can safely use his senses in it, don't you think that will be a major problem in the field?" I ask, thinking back to some of the worlds we've visited.

"I'm not sure. I mean, let's face it, the SGC may be on earth but it's not exactly a normal place and he can compensate almost automatically for most of the things he is likely to encounter in a more natural environment so that may help. In fact, from what Daniel's told me, chances are he won't have that much trouble when visiting other worlds... if anything those planets are likely to be soothing for him."

"Soothing?"

"I'm just speculating here," he warns me, "but going by what Daniel's told me most of the worlds we are likely to visit will be capable of sustaining human life but at the same time they are also likely to be less technologically advanced than we are. That means that even though the plants and animals are likely to be different, chances are that there will be far fewer unnatural, irritating elements from Jim's perspective. Of course, I could be mistaken. We'll see how that goes once we actually go through the stargate. Luckily I think General Hammond is planning to have us visit a couple of 'friendly' planets before attempting any real missions so that should at least give us an idea as to what it is that we are up against."

"Yes, he mentioned something about going to the Land of the Light sometime next week. So what would happen if it turns out that Jim **_does_** have a problem with gate travel?" I ask, feeling both curious and more than a little worried.

"To tell you the truth I don't really know, though I'm hoping that that won't be the case. I mean, I wouldn't say that he **_won't_** have any trouble with it at first, but I'm hoping he will be able to learn to compensate for it."

"But even in a worst case scenario he'll still be able to help us with the data collected by the MALP, right?" I ask.

"I'm not sure," says Blair before explaining. "We've never had to deal with a situation like that before, though I'm guessing that the information he'll be able to gather from such probes will be far less than the one he would be able to gather from direct observation."

"Why?"

"Well, there are several limitations I can think of off the top of my head. For instance, such a probe would relay audio and video but that would only provide him with a very limited picture because that would cover only two out of five senses. There's no way that a probe can accurately relay information concerning touch, taste and smell. In addition to that the limitations intrinsic to the equipment being used would at times render his senses useless because his enhanced senses would only enhance the information that is being sent back... and more often than not the equipment will have technical limitations that mimic those of normal senses. There's no way Jim can overcome that."

"Okay, I'm not sure I'm following you," I admit.

"It's simple, really. Take for instance an audio signal. Most microphones are designed to work within a range similar to that of human hearing, meaning between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. In other words, subsonics and ultrasonics won't be picked up."

"Actually, we use ultra-sensitive equipment and..."

"And that still won't solve the problem because you are not listening to the sound directly," he reminds me. "That means that you have to contend with the technical limitations of the mechanical elements that are to be found at **_both_** ends of the transmission chain: the microphone **_and_** the speakers. In other words, even if you **_are_** using a microphone that has been especially designed to record sounds that are beyond the normal human range --either ultrasonic or subsonic-- there are no speakers capable of reproducing them because **_all_** speakers are designed for human ears. Also, do your probes have one or two microphones?"

"One, why?"

"Because that means that in spite of his heightened hearing Jim cannot recreate a three dimensional image out of that sound, there's no way for him to figure out where a sound is coming from. You could say that there's no way for Jim to compensate for the loss of 'depth perception' a single microphone causes, regardless of whether that microphone happens to be uni, bi or omnidirectional."

"I see, and what about video?" I ask, fascinated by how Blair perceives technology and its limitations from a sentinel's perspective.

"Again, he may be able to enhance what is there without the need of special software or technical equipment --and that is a skill that may well come in handy when time is of the essence-- but at the same time the fact remains that he cannot compensate for what is not there and the resolution of the average video camera leaves much to be desired..."

"Because it is intended to be used with a screen that has an equally low resolution," I finish for him, realizing what he is trying to say.

"Exactly. The most you could hope to have is a situation similar to the one you encounter when you try to digitally enhance an image: yes, you can get a lot more detail than you would normally get but you can't enhance it to the point that you see something that isn't there to begin with. For instance, if you have a blurry reflection on a window, you may be able to enhance it until it makes some sort of sense but if there is no reflection to begin with then there's nothing you can do about it. In addition to that there is also the fact that a camera does not provide you with a full picture of your surroundings and --since a camera operates alone and is not aware of the input from any other 'senses'-- you may be unaware of something that is **_not_** in frame until it's too late. The thing is that when you hear something to your right, for instance, your natural reaction is to turn around and look for it. A camera doesn't have the ability to hear, a single microphone does not allow you to pinpoint the source of any given sound and there's no way Jim's senses can compensate for those limitations. He may be able to see more than the rest of us but he won't be able to see what the camera isn't showing him... and, to be perfectly honest --when lives are on the line-- those limitations are **_not_** something to be taken lightly."

"In other words, you are saying that using Jim's senses on the information provided by the probes could turn out to be a wasted effort at best and dangerous at worst?"

"Not necessarily. I'm saying that yes, he can help but that that is not the best use of his senses and that there are some technical limitations to those probes that Jim **_can't_** overcome because our technology was never intended to be used by a man with heightened senses. In other words, you could say that in a way the equipment is likely to end up **_imposing_** some of our own senses' limitations on him," explains Blair and I find myself trying to figure out what all of this means both for Jim and for the SGC.

Up until now Jim's heightened senses had been a rather intriguing phenomenon as far as I was concerned, they were a curiosity, now for the first time they are beginning to feel like something real.

* * *

**_Author's notes_**: Hi guys, sorry about the delay in posting this. I got sick and that pretty much meant no writing for a week. I'll try to get 'In the Genes' posted later today or early tomorrow (and the same goes for the next story in the 'Under Alen Skies' series). Hopefully next week things will go back to normal.

Alec


	43. Chapter 43: One Small Step

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 43: One Small Step...  
(Blair's POV)

We are in the gate room and I think I've already lost track of the number of things that could possibly go wrong here but that doesn't keep my mind from supplying me with a brand new possibility every ten seconds or so. This is it, this is the moment I've been both looking forward to and dreading for most of this past week. I've seen the gate in action almost twenty times since I first came to the SGC but I am all too aware that seeing it in action is not the same as going through it.

The good news is that Jim has managed to overcome all the obstacles the SGC has thrown at him up until now, though I have to admit that at times that outcome was far from certain. In fact after we first arrived there was a time when we feared that this had all been a huge mistake... especially because it took Jim more than half a dozen tries to be able to do so much as look into the event horizon **_without_** zoning. Of course, that problem --while unexpected-- may well have turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Sure, Jim was more than a little embarrassed afterwards but the fact remains that those incidents helped everyone understand just how vulnerable his senses can render him at times. In that regard that problem turned out to be more effective than a hundred lectures. Yes, the zone-outs were pretty bad and they scared quite a few people, but in the end they took place in a safe and controlled environment so there were no real risks involved, not like there would have been if it had happened in the course of a battle.

Since then we've had a few days to work with SG-1, the team we've been unofficially assigned to for the duration of our 'training period'... or until General Hammond can figure out what the heck he is supposed to do with us. For the time being I am somewhat comforted by the knowledge that our temporary teammates can at least recognize a zone for what it is and I'm hoping they will even be able to pull Jim out of a minor one should the need arise, though I am also well aware that they would be lost if they were confronted with a major one when I'm not there... and I'm **_not_** the only one who is more than a little worried about that possibility. Sure, we had warned them long before we left Cascade that we could not afford to be separated but I think up until they saw Jim zone they had assumed that that was a matter of choice, now they understand it is a matter of necessity and that even if for some reason the team has to split up, the two of us must remain together at all times.

From their perspective that is a problem, especially because it is pretty obvious that they see me as the weakest member of the team. That means that they worry that if Jim were to become incapacitated because of a zone we would **_both_** be rendered vulnerable and by extension whoever happened to be stuck with the two of us would be automatically compromised. In other words, they won't be able to relax unless I can prove to them that I can hold my own... unfortunately I'm not sure of how to do that, not with the information I have currently available to me.

That is why this 'mission' is so important to me: because one of the things I've learned in this past week is that none of my previous experiences as a guide has prepared me for what I am going to experience here and that means that I have way too many unknowns and I **_really_** need to know where I stand and what I'm up against. After all, Jim is counting on me to watch his back.

Sure, Jim may have managed to overcome his problems when it comes to looking at the event horizon but that doesn't change the fact that I am pretty much counting on a major zone-out when we arrive in the 'Land of the Light' and that is not going to be fun... far from it.

I know that sounds more than a little pessimistic of me --and I'd really love to be wrong about that-- but somehow I don't think I am. Still, in spite of the fact that I know chances are we are in for a rough time, I can't deny the fact that I am itching to get going.

Even though Sam told me of their adventures --and misadventures-- involving the quantum mirror, in a way I can't help but feel that traveling through the stargate will be an opportunity to study different realities. Sure, they won't be **_different realities_**, not literally, but we are going to worlds inhabited by the descendants of our own ancient civilizations and that means that I'll be able to see what those societies might have become if things had turned out differently.

Oddly enough I think in the long run that is going to be a major difference between me and Daniel. I've lost track of how many times I've heard Jack teasing him about spending way too much time with his 'rocks' but then again he is an archeologist. I, on the other hand, am an anthropologist. For me it's not so much about the artifacts as it is about the people, about how they live and what they do.

According to Daniel in the Land of the Light we'll encounter a society that is reminiscent of the Ancient Minoans. That means it is based on one of the civilizations that is at the root of what we now know as the Western civilization... and that makes their development --or lack thereof-- particularly intriguing. What happened to them since they were taken? Considering the changes our own world has seen it is hard for me to imagine that their society has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds or maybe even thousands of years and yet that would seem to be the case.

Did their civilization remain static because there were no other cultures around? I hate to even consider it but if they were taken from earth and then abandoned by the Goa'uld because of the presence of a mysterious illness, could it be that theirs was a centralized society that faced no real external threats and therefore had no need to evolve? After all, a sad fact of human history is that wars have been key to our own technological development. That is one of the reasons why isolated populations on remote islands can remain virtually unchanged for thousands of years.

Of course, in addition to that, I have other questions, like why did the Goa'uld abandon that world after going through the trouble of populating it in the first place. Sure, I could understand that the presence of a disease may have turned out to be a problem, but somehow I don't think that explanation can withstand much scrutiny under the circumstances, not unless there is more to it than meets the eye.

The way I see it, the Goa'uld must have found something valuable enough in that world to make settling it worth while and --considering their technology-- it should have been possible for them to overcome the disease without too much trouble, so why didn't they? Sure, they may have thought that human lives were unworthy of being saved but that still doesn't answer the question of what happened to whatever brought them there in the first place. Could it be that whatever cause the disease SG-1 first found on that planet was even deadlier for the Goa'uld than it was for humans? I know I'm just guessing here, but I admit that I'm more than a little curious about that... especially because if there was something that caused the Goa'uld to abandon that world, maybe that something could be duplicated elsewhere.

Sure, the evidence provided by the fact that Teal'c was immune would seem to contradict that theory but seeing how the disease affects the nervous system it may well have had a different impact on a Goa'uld than on a Jaffa. After all, a Jaffa is essentially an incubator and he's nervous system is independent of that of the larva he carries... that, however, **_wouldn't_** necessarily be true for a Goa'uld who could find itself even more vulnerable than the average human.

Oh well, it's just one crazy theory, one that --being the new kid on the secret project-- I know better than to mention. It's just something to keep my mind away from the fact that I am about to step literally into another world, with my sentinel by my side.

Funny, I never really imagined that my life could possibly turn out like this and still somehow it feels just right.

THE END

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**_Author's notes_**: Okay, I know the end seems kind of abrupt but with the number of TS/SG-1 crossovers out there I felt that going into the adventures of Jim and Blair through the gate was more than a little redundant, that's the reason why my emphasis was on getting them into the SGC in the first place. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this and thanks for reading. Considering that this thing began as a one shot that required quite a bit of patience.

Alec


End file.
